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4 


VQYAG-S  TO  ROME.— -(See  Lessons  xlviii.,  xlix.,  and  U 


A Year  with  St.  Paul 


OR 

FIFTY-TWO  LESSONS 


FOR  THE 

SUNDAYS  OF  THE  YEAR. 


t 


CHARLES  E.  KNOX. 


NEW-YORK. 

ANSON  D.  F.  RANDOLPH,  770  BROADWAY, 

Corner  of  Ninth  Street. 


1865. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1862,  by 
ANSON  D.  F.  RANDOLPH, 

fti  the  Clerk’s  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the  Southern 
District  of  New- York. 


JOHN  A.  GRAY, 

Printer , Stereotyper , and  Binder , 

FRANKFOkT  AND  JACOB  STREETS, 

Fire-Proof  Buildings. 


Jfntrobxtdion:. 


It  is  my  desire  and  my  hope  to  interest  young  people 
who  are  beginning  to  study  the  Scriptures  by  subjects 
rather  than  by  the  regular,  measured  lesson  of  verses. 
This  “ Year  with  St.  Paul”  is  designed  to  give  variety 
to  the  course  of  Biblical  Instruction  in  the  Church,  the 
Family  and  the  School ; and  especially  to  open,  if  pos- 
sible, a new  and  attractive  department  of  study  to 
those  just  ready  tg  advance  from  seven-verse  lessons 
to  something  more  general  and  more  continuous,  and 
who,  in  the  transition  from  childhood  to  youth,  are 
growing  impatient  of  the  ordinary  unvarying  recitation 
and  questioning  of  verse  by  verse.  The  subjects  have 
been  stated  with  the  hope  of  exciting  and  fixing  the 
attention.  The  questions  are  intended  to  bring  out 
both  the  text  of  the  Scripture-lesson  and  the  descrip- 
tions which  follow,  and  to  be  suggestive  to  those  who 
find  such  questions  a help  in  teaching. 

The  descriptions  of  the  Apostle’s  life,  as  it  is  illus- 
o trated  by  civil  history  and  geographical  scenery,  are 
'V,  taken  substantially  from  “ Conybeare  and  Howson’s 
Life  and  Epistles  of  St.  Paul.”  The  attempt  is  simply 
r to  sketch  the  outline  of  that  c living  picture.’  Quota- 
tions will  be  found  frequent ; and  even  where  there  are 
no  quotations,  the  spirit  of  many  a paragraph  or  sen- 
tence is  almost  literally  preserved.  If  the  Scripture, 
thus  illustrated  by  the  life  of  the  age  in  which  it  was 
written,  shall  produce  in  the  minds  of  young  people  an 
impression,  in  some  measure  like  that  which  was  awa*. 
kened  in  the  mind  of  the  early  oriental  reader  of  the 
book  of  Acts,  the  object  will  be  secured.  It  is  believed 


A 


IV 


INTRODUCTION. 


these  external  helps  will  aid  the  young  to  form  a concep- 
tion of  the  Apostle’s  life,  as  it  appeared  to  one  who,  at 
J erusalem  or  at  Rome,  in  the  first  century,  read  the  last 
half  £>f  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles ; and  therefore  will  aid 
to  exalt  in  their  minds  the  heroism,  the  courage,  the 
zeal,  the  faith,  which  the  religion  of  Jesus  wrought  in 
the  life  of  Paul. 

These  lessons  have  been  confined  within  the  limit  of 
a year,  in  the  conviction  that  young  persons  at  the 
age  alluded  to  generally  tire  of  a study  protracted  be- 
yond that  length  of  time.  Why  should  we  do  that  in 
teaching  the  Bible,  which  we  never  do  in  our  secular 
schools  ? Why  should  we  protract  the  one  same  study, 
year  after  year,  till  the  mind  is  wearied  with  the  same- 
ness ? A series  of  yearly  subjects,  adapted  and  gradu- 
ated to  the  advancement  of  the  scholar,  would  widen 
the  range  of  Biblical  teaching,  would,  without  harm, 
meet  the  fondness  of  all  young  people  for  marked  points 
of  progress,  and  give  them  a more  general  knowledge 
of  the  Bible.  Such  a system  the  author  has  had  in 
mind  in  the  preparation  of  the  present  work  ; and 
should  these  lessons  on  the  Life  of  St.  Paul  be  re- 
ceived with  favor,  another  volume  may  supply  lessons 
for  another  year. 


Cable  of  Contents 


FIRST  SUNDAY. 

The  Infancy  and  Childhood  of  Paul. 

SECOND  SUNDAY. 

Saul  at  School. 

THIRD  SUNDAY. 

Saul  and  Stephen. 

FOURTH  SUNDAY. 

The  Conversion. 

FIFTH  SUNDAY. 

Damascus,  Arabia,  and  Tarsus. 

SIXTH  SUNDAY. 

Barnabas  goes  for  Saul. 

SEVENTH  SUNDAY. 

The  Beginning  of  the  Journeys. 

EIGHTH  SUNDAY. 

The  Pro-Consul  at  Paphos. 

NINTH  SUNDAY. 

* Perils  of  Robbers,’  and  ‘ Perils  of  Rivers. 

TENTH  SUNDAY. 

Jesus  of  Nazareth,  the  Messiah. 

ELEVENTH  SUNDAY. 

An  Extraordinary  Thing  in  a Synagogue. 

TWELFTH  SUNDAY. 

Flights  from  City  to  City. 


CONTENTS ; 


THIRTEENTH  SUNDAY. 

Jupiter  and  Mercury. 

FOURTEENTH  SUNDAY. 

The  Journey  Home. 

FIFTEENTH  SUNDAY. 

A Difficult  Question. 

SIXTEENTH  SUNDAY. 

The  Council. 

SEVENTEENTH  SUNDAY. 

The  Letter  and  the  Letter-Bearehs. 

EIGHTEENTH  SUNDAY. 

Starting  on  the  Second  Journey. 

NINETEENTH  SUNDAY. 

A New  Companion  and  New  Travels. 

TWENTIETH  SUNDAY. 

From  Asia  to  Europe. 

TWENTY-FIRST  SUNDAY. 

Roman  Law. 

TWENTY-SECOND  SUNDAY. 

The  Founding  of  the  Thessalonian  Church. 

TWENTY-THIRD  SUNDAY. 

The  Mob  of  the  Idlers. 

TWENTY-FOURTH  SUNDAY. 

The  Journey  to  Greece. 

TWENTY-FIFTH  SUNDAY. 

The  Grecian  Capital. 

TWENTY-SIXTH  SUNDAY. 

Mars*  Hill. 

TWENTY-SEVENTH  SUNDAY. 

‘The  City  of  the  two  Seas.’ 

TWENTY-EIGIITH  SUNDAY 

The  First  Epistle. 

TWENTY-NINTH  SUNDAY. 

A Persecutor  Persecuted. 


CONTENTS. 


THIRTIETH  SUNDAY. 

The  Second  Return  Home. 

THIRTY-FIRST  SUNDAY. 

The  Third  Journey  — Apollos  of  Alexandria. 

THIRTY-SECOND  SUNDAY. 

Miracles  and  Magic-Workers. 

THIRTY-THIRD  SUNDAY. 

The  Temple  of  Diana. 

THIRTY-FOURTH  SUNDAY. 

The  Town-Clerk  of  Ephesus. 

THIRTY-FIFTH  SUNDAY. 

Titus,  the  Messenger. 

THIRTY-SIXTH  SUNDAY. 

Six  Months  in  Macedonia  and  Illyricum. 

THIRTY-SEVENTH  SUNDAY. 

Phcebe  Carries  a Letter  to  Rome. 

TIIIRTY-EIGHTII  SUNDAY. 

The  Games  at  the  Isthmus. 

THIRTY-NINTH  SUNDAY. 

4 The  Coasts  of  Asia.* 

FORTIETH  SUNDAY.  - 

The  Elders  of  Ephesus. 

FORTY-FIRST  SUNDAY 

Third  Journey  Home. 

FORTY-SECOND  SUNDAY 
A Mob  in  Jerusalem. 

FORTY-TIIIRD  SUNDAY. 

The  Address  from  the  Stairs. 

FORTY-FOURTH  SUNDAY. 

Paul  a Prisoner  before  the  Sanhedrim. 

FORTY-FIFTH  SUNDAY. 

The  Capital  and  the  Governor  of  Judea. 

FORTY-SIXTH  SUNDAY. 

The  Appeal  to  the  Emperor. 


CONTENTS. 


FORTY-SEVENTH  SUNDAY. 
Tns  Royal  Visitors. 

FORTY-EIGHTH  SUNDAY. 

The  Prisoner  sent  to  Rome. 

FORTY-NINTH  SUNDAY. 

Storm  and  Shipwreck. 

FIFTIETH  SUNDAY. 

Sicily  and  Italy. 

FIFTY-FIRST  SUNDAY. 

Paul’s  Residence  in  Rome. 

FIFTY-SECOND  SUNDAY. 

T KK  Trial  and  the  EisjounQis?. 


A YEAR  WITH  ST.  PAUL. 


Jfh'st  Smxbajr. 


THE  INFANCY  AND  CHILDHOOD  OF  PAUL. 


LESSON. 

Acts  xxi.  39  ; xxii.  3;  xxiii.  6,  8,  16;  xxvi.  6 ; Phil.  iii.  5; 

I.  Sam.  x.  21,  24 ; Acts  xvi.  37,  38,  and  xxii.  26-28. 

YI7E  need  some  knowledge  of  the  province  and  the 
city  in  which  Paul  passed  his  infancy  and  child- 
hood, to  have  a correct  idea  of  Paul’s  life. 

Cilicia  was  a province  of  the  Roman  Empire,  and 
at  the  time  when  Paul  lived  was  divided  into  two 
nearly  equal  portions.  The  icestern  part  was  filled  with 
bold,  rough  mountains  from  the  great  chain  of  Mount 
Taurus  to  the  sea.  On  the  Mediterranean  they  form 
the  high,  wild  coast  of  broken  cliffs,  in  the  centre  of  the 
curve  from  the  Bay  of  Xssus  to  the  Sea  of  Pamphylia. 
The  whole  region  was  therefore  called  Rough  Cilicia. 
The  people  who  lived  in  all  this  district  were  notorious 
robbers.  They  formed  innumerable  strongholds  in  the 
mountains.  The  name  of  Isauria , in  the  interior,  re- 
presented to  the  Romans  ail  that  was  bold  and  cruel  in 
robbery.  The  forests  and  many  cliffs,  the  little  bays 
and  creeks  on  the  sea,  made  an  easy  escape  and  refuge 
for  pirates.  These  Isaurians  were  so  resolute  and  in 


2 


(FIRST  SURRA  Y.) 


dependent  in  tlieir  rough  country,  that  the  Romans, 
after  many  attempts,  gave  up  subduing  them  on  land. 
They  then  became  more  bold  on  the  sea,  until  they  dis- 


“ their  fleets  seemed  innumerable ; they  were  connected 
with  other  desperate  men,  far  beyond  their  own  coasts ; 
and,  they  began  to  arouse  attention  at  Rome.  A vast 
expedition  was  fitted  out  under  the  command  of  Pompey 


INFANCY  AND  CHILDHOOD  OF  PAUL. 


3 


the  Great ; thousands  of  piratic  vessels  were  burnt  on 
the  coast  of  Cilicia,  and  the  inhabitants  disjDersed ; and 
the  Mediterranean  was  made  safe  for  the  voyages  of 
merchants  and  apostles.  A city  on  the  borders  of  the 
two  divisions  of  Cilicia  was  named,  in  honor  of  the  con- 
queror of  the  pirates,  Fompeiopolis,”  (city  of  Pompey.) 

The  eastern  part  of  Cilicia  was  called  Flat  Cilicia. 
It  was  a rich  and  extensive  plain,  and  was  esteemed 
valuable  on  account  of  its  rich  fertility,  and  because  its 
fruitful  valleys  were  so  well  protected.  The  long  range 
of  mountains  on  the  north  and  west  rose  like  a wall  all 
the  way  from  Pompeiopolis  to  the  very  centre  of  Asia 
Minor,  and  formed  a safe  defence  for  all  travellers  up 
the  valleys,  while  there  was  another  road  of  travel 
* around  th^xorner  of  the  sea,  and  southwards  through 
the  mount  ™s  towards  Antioch  and  Syria.  Flat  Cilicia 
was,  therefore,  the  natural  high-road  for  caravans  and 
armies.  It  was  the  route  of  some  of  the  greatest  gen- 
erals of  antiquity.  Cyrus  led  his  army  over  this  plain, 
on  his  way  from  the  western  part  of  Asia  Minor  to 
attack  his  brother,  King  of  Persia.  Alexander  the 
Great  and  his  army,  on  his  career  of  victory  from  Ma- 
cedonia, was  met  here  by  the  five  hundred  thousand 
men  of  Darius,  and  just  above  the  gulf  of  Issus  won 
the  victory  which  made  him  master  of  the  Persian  em- 
pire. The  hosts  of  the  Crusaders,  too,  passed  along 
this  plaiit.  It  was  here,  not  more  than  half  a century 
before  Paul  was  born,  that  Cicero  the  orator  was  Gov- 
ernor or  Pro-Consul  of  Cilicia.  While  here,  he  wrote 
many  letters  to  his  friends,  which  give  a good  general 
Mea  of  the  way  in  which  the  Roman  Empire  governed 
the  province.  He  travelled  over  the  same  country,  and 
through  the  same  places,  through  which  Paul  travelled. 
He  probably  regarded  the  Jews  with  much  contempt, 
and  would  be  likely  to  treat  them  with  great  injustice. 


4 


{FIRST  SUNDAY.) 


Tarsus  was  the  capital  of  the  whole  province  of  both 
Rough  and  Flat  Cilicia.  A clear  and  cold  river  flowed 
from  the  snows  of  the  steep # mountains  of  Taurus 
through  the  city,  and  spread  out  into  a harbor  below 
the  town.  Alexander  the  Great  nearly  lost  his  life  in 
bathing  in  the  cold  and  rapid  waters  of  the  Cydnus. 
Tarsus  was  an  ancient  and  great  city.  About  the  time 
of  Paul,  it  is  said,  that  “ in  all  that  relates  to  philoso- 
phy and  general  education,  it  was  even  more  illustrious 
than  Athens  or  Alexandria.”  It  was  therefore  a learned 
city:  there  “ the  Greek  language  was  spoken,  and  Greek 
literature  studiously  cultivated.”  “The  people  of  Tar- 
sus were  celebrated  for  their  mental  power,  their  readi- 
ness in  repartee,  and  their  fondness  for  the  study  of 
philosophy.”  In  general,  we  may  infer  that,  commer-  * 
cially,  Tarsus  was  the  principal  port  in  th  JSkstern  part 
of  the  Mediterranean,  and  that,  in  cultivation,  it  was 
“ a city  where  the  language  of  refinement  was  spoken 
and  written  in  the  midst  of  a ruder  population,  who  use 
a different  language  and  possess  no  literature  of  their 
own.” 

This  was  the  city  in  which  the  parents  of  Paul  lived, 
when  Saul  was  born.  We  know  that  both  father  and 
mother  were  Hebrews,  for  Paul  himself  says  that  he  is 
4 a Hebrew  of  Hebrews,’  (or  from  Hebrews,)  which 
means  that  he  was  a pure  Hebrew,  and  that  neither 
father  nor  mother  was  at  first  a proselyte  ^om  any 
other  nation  to  the  Jews.  They  spoke,  no  doubt,  their 
native  tongue,  and  yet  Saul,  in  his  early  years  in  Tar- 
sus, would  as  often  hear  the  Greek.  He  must  have 
learned  both  the  Hebrew  and  the  Greek  almost  as  soon 
as  he  learned  to  talk.  At  home,  however,  the  family 
were  strictly  Hebrews.  His  parents  were  Pharisees : 
they  taught  him  the  rigid  observance  of  all  the  rites 
and  traditions  of  his  sect.  They  were  of  the  tribe  of 


INFANCY  AND  CHILDHOOD  OF  PAUL. 


5 


Benjamin,  and  they  gave  their  son  the  name  of  the  first 
King  of  Israel  taken  from  the  same  favored  tribe.  It 
may  be  that  the  great  Apostle  had  both  names,  Saul 
and  Paul,  from  his  infancy.  Although  in  the  book  of 
Acts  he  is  called  Paul  only  after  the  conversion  of  Sur- 
gius  Paulns  in  Cyprus,  as  we  shall  hereafter  safe,  yet 
“ it  is  most  probable  that  he  had  both  names  in  child- 
hood that  in  his  Hebrew  home  he  was  called  by  the 
ancient  Hebrew  name  of  Saul,  and  that  the  Gentiles 
(the  Romans  especially)  gave  it  the  Roman  form  of 
Paulus.  It  may  possibly  be,  too,  that  from  motives  of 
interest  and  policy,  he  was  called  sometimes,  among 
his  friends  and  by  the  family,  the  Roman  name,  Paul,  as 
we  know  he  mentions,  in  his  epistle  to  the  Romans, 
two  “kinsmen,”  Juiiia1  and  Lucius1,  whose  names  are 
Roman. 

Saul’s  father  was  also  a Roman  citizen.  How  did  he 
gain  this  privilege  ? It  was  not  because  he  was  a 
native  of  the  city.  “ It  had  been  given  him,  or  had  de- 
scended to  him,  as  his  own  right ; he  might  have  pur 
chased  it  for  a large  sum  of  money2,  but  it  is  more  pro- 
bable that  some  influential  Roman  had  obtained  it  for 
him  as  a reward  for  services  rendered  during  the  civil 
wars.”  And  hence*  as  this  citizenship,  procured  by 
money,  or  by  valuable  service,  belonged  to  the  family, 
Saul  was  4 free-born,’  and  could  afterwards  rely  upon 
his  citizenship  as  a defence  in  the  time  of  trouble. 

We  cannot  decide  whether  Saul’s  parents  were 
wealthy  or  poor.  If  his  father  purchased  the  Roman 
citizenship,  it  would  have  required  large  expense ; but 
on  the  other  hand,  when  it  was  bestowed  by  the  gov- 
ernment for  services  done  to  the  army  or  to  the  state,  it 
would  have  been  given  to  the  poor  as  well  as  to  the 

1 Romans  xvi.  7,  21.  * See  Acts  xxii  28. 


6 


( FID  ST  SUNDAY.) 


rich  Saul  learned  a trade.  He  was  a tent*  maker,  as 
we  learn  from  his  occupation  when  he  came  to  Corinth,3 
but  this  does  not  prcfce  that  either  he  or  his  parents 
were  reduced  to  necessary  labor  for  a livelihood.  “ It 
was  the  custom  among  the  Jews  that  all  boys  should 
leariffca  trade.  Rabbi  J udah  saith,  c He  that  teacheth 
not  his  son  a trade,  does  the  same  as  if  he  taught  him 
to  be  a thief,’  and  Rabban  Gamaliel  saith : c He  that 
hath  a trade  in  his  hand,  to  what  is  he  like  ? he  is  like 
a vineyard  that  is  fenced.’  ” Tent-making  was  a pro- 
fitable occupation . at  Tarsus.  The  goats  of  his  na- 
tive province  furnished  hair,  from  which  was  woven 
hair-cloth,  sold  in  the  markets  for  the  tent-covering.  It 
is  perhaps  well  to  think  that  Saul’s  father  was  in  mod- 
erate circumstances  and  position,  occupied,  like  many 
of  the  Jews,  in  the  traffic  of  the  land-merchants,  or  of 
the  sea-commerce,  and  that  he  gave  his  son  a trade 
which  would  be  of  use  to  him  wherever  his  lot  might 
be  cast,  and  however  he  might  be  reduced  from  a 
learned  or  a professional  life  to  dependence  on  common 
labor  for  a living. 

Did  Saul  have  brothers  and  sisters  ? We  read  of  one 
sister  at  Jerusalem,  whose  son  saved  his  life.  Some  of 
Saul’s  kindred  became  Christians  Jbefore  Saul  himself, 
as  is  clear  from  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  where  An 
dronicus  and  Junia  are  said  to  have  been  in  Christ  be 
fore  himself. 

Here  Saul  was  born,  in  this  flourishing  city  of  Tar- 
sus. Here,  as  a boy,  he  played  perhaps  by  the  side 
of  the  clear,  cold  river,  building  his  little  ships  to  sail 
upon  the  water,  and  sometimes  losing  them  on  ac- 
count of  the  swiftness  of  the  current  which  came  rush- 
ms:  down  from  the  mountain-sides  to  the  sea.  lie  saw 


xviii.  3. 


• INFANCY  AND  CHILDHOOD  OF  PAUL. 


1 


the  fertile  plains,  and  the  high  mountains  beyond.  Ho 
saw  the  water-falls  pouring  over  the  rocks  in  full  flood, 
when  the  snow  melted.  He  saw  in  the  streets,  and  on 
the  wharves,  men  of  various  languages  and  costumes : 
the  Cyprian  from  the  island  opposite ; the  Syrian  from 
Antioch  ; the  rough,  wild,  mountain-ranger  from  Rough 
Cilicia  or  from  Isauria,  half-suspected  as  a very  robber ; 
the  hardy  Cappadocian  from  the  interior ; the  handsome 
Greek  from  the  famous  land  beyond  the  Archipelago  ; 
the  Roman  trafficker  and  the  Roman  soldier  from  the 
seven-hilled  city ; and  now  and  then  the  swarthy  Egypt- 
ian and  the  wandering  Arab ; while  his  own  nation 
never  lacked  representatives.  He  saw  the  eastern  cara- 
van, with  its  long  train,  start  off  up  the  valley  for  the 
head-waters  of  the  Euphrates,  and  the  company  of  trad- 
ers on  the  route  around  the  Bay  of  Issus,  composed  of 
its  smaller  parties,  on  their  way  to  Antioch,  to  Caesarea, 
to  Samaria,  or  even  to  Damascus  or  to  Jerusalem.  He 
saw  ships  from  Cyprus  and  from  Caesarea,  from  Alex- 
andria and  from  the  western  seas,  in  the  harbor ; and 
th$  toil-worn  throng  of  men  and  animals  which  had 
ju^b  arrived  through  the  wild  Cilician  gates,  from  the 
Ephesus  and  Smyrna  road,  bringing  their  strange  stories 
from  the  ruder  regions  of  the  interior.  Eager  and 
quick  to  observe,  Saul  the  boy  was  now  making  the 
acquaintance  of  these  various  nations  and  their  people, 
whom  afterwards  he  was  so  much  to  influence. 


{FIRST  SUNDAY.) 


QUESTION# 


\1JHERE  was  Paul  b:>rn  ? 

* * Where  in  the  Scriptures  do  you  find  the  place  of  Paul’s 
birth  ? 

Does  more  than  one  person  speak  of  it  ? 

Who  speaks  the  greater  number  of  times  of  Paul’s  early 
life? 

Where  was  he  when  he  spoke  of  it  ? 

In  which  place  does  he  speak  most  of  it  ? 

What  was  Cilicia  ? 

What  was  the  name  of  the  western  part  ? 

What  kind  of  people  lived  there  ? 

What  famous  robbers  lived  near  ? 

What  drove  the  pirates  from  the  sea  ? 

What  has  the  driving  of  pirates  from  the  sea  to  do  witb 
Paul’s  life? 

What  was  the  name  of  the  eastern  part  ? 

How  did  it  differ  from  the  western  part  ? 

What  were  the  principal  roads  out  of  it  ? 

What  travelled  on  these  roads  ? 

What  great  generals  have  passed  over  these  roads  ? 
What  great  armies  have  marched  here  ? 

What  famous  Roman  was  once  Governor  of  this  province  ? 
Was  it  before  or  after  Paul’s  birth  ? 

Why  doesn’t  he  notice  the  Jews  in  his  letters  ;o  his 
friends  ? 

Was  Tarsus  a place  of  much  consequence  in  the  province  ? 
In  what  respects  was  it  4 no  mean  city  ’ ? 

With  what  cities  djp  it  rank  in  learning  at  that  time  ? 
What  were  the  people  especially  celebrated  for? 

What  language  was  spoken  there  ? 

Did  all  the  people  probably  use  one  language? 

With  what  great  cities  did  Tarsus  probably  lave  trade  ? 
Of  what  nation  was  Paul  ? 

A^ere  his  father  and  mother  loth  of  the  sane  nation  ? 
How  do  vou  know  ? 


( FIRST  SUNDAY.) 


How  many  brothers  and  sisters  had  Paul  ? 

Did  Paul  have  any  relatives  not  Jews  ? 

What  language  was  spoken  in  the  house  ? 

Did  Paul  learn  any  other  language  ? 

VThat  tribe  did  his  parents  belong  to  ? 

Can  you  find  more  than  one  place  where  Paul  speaks 
of  his  tribe  ? 

Whose  name,  in  their  tribe,  did  they  give  to  their  son  ? 

How  is  it  that  we  have  two  names  ? 

Would  his  own  family  be  likely  to  call  him  by  the  Ro- 
man name? 

Had  he  any  relatives  with  Roman  names  ? 

What  sect  of  his  nation  did  Saul’s  parents  belong  to  ? 

When  Saul  grew  up,  did  he  prefer  his  father’s  sect,  or 
some  other  ? 

In  how  many  places  does  Paul  speak  of  this  sect  ? To 
whom  ? 

Was  Saul’s  father  connected  in  any  way  with  any  other  na- 
tion? 

In  what  two  ways  might  he  have  become  a Roman  cit-  . 
izen  ? 

Was  this  of  any  consequence  to  Saul? 

What  does  he  mean,  when  he  says  he  is  ‘ free-born’  ? 

Did  he  ever  make  use  of  this  right  of  his  birth  ? 

Can  you  tell  whether  Saul’s  parents  Were  wealthy  or  poor  ? 

What  does  their  sending  Saul  to  Jerusalem  to  be  edu- 
cated seem  to  show  ? 

Were  the  other  Apostles  wealthy  or  poor  ? 

What  trade  did  Saul  learn  when  young  ? 

Does  this  show  whether  his  parents  were  wealthy  or 
poor  ? 

•What  two  maxims  of  the  Rabbis,  in  respect  to  trade, 
are  given  ? 

What  were  tents  made  from  ? 

What  people  did  Saul  the  boy  see  in  the  streets  of  Tar- 
sus ? 

What  difference  did  it  make  with  Saul  in  after  life  ? 

Was  Saul  taught  to  read  the  Scriptures  and  to  pray  ? 

(2) 


Scarnfr  Smtirag. 


SAUL  AT  SCHOOL. 


LESSOR. 

Acts  xxii.  3 ; xxvi.  4,  5 ; xxiii.  6-8.  Galatians  i.  14. 

TARSUS  was  a place  of  learning,  but  tbe  learning  was 
under  the  control  and  teaching  of  the  Greeks.  The 
Hebrews  looked  at  the  Greeks  as  ‘ strangers  ’ and 
6 aliens  and  the  strict  Pharisees  no  doubt  held  these 
schools  in  abhorrence.  If  there  were  Greek  schools 
for  children,  it  is  not  probable  that  Saul  the  boy  would 
be  permitted  to  attend  them.  4 He  received  his  educa- 
tion, therefore,  at  home  rather  than  at  school or,  if 
he  went  to  a school,  it  was  not  to  a Greek  school,  but 
rather  to  “ some  room  connected  with  a synagogue, 
where  a noisy  class  of  Jewish  children  were  seated  on 
the  ground  with  their  teacher,  after  the  manner  of  Mo- 
hammedan children  in  the  East,  who  may  be  seen  at 
their  lessons  near  the  mosque.”  At  such  a place,  it  may 
be,  he  learned  to  read  and  write,  going  to  school  and 
returning,  as  was  the  custom,  with  a servant.  Perhaps 
he  thought  of  his  own  boyish  school-days,  and  of  the 
servant  who  took  him  to  school  and  brought  him  hoihe, 
when  he  afterwards  wrote  to  the  Galatians  that  the 
Law  is  a servant  who  leads  us  to  the  school  of  Christ.1 
As  he  grew  older,  he  gained  his  religious  knowledge 

Galatians  iii.  24.  The  word  translated  ‘schoolmaster,’  in  this 
passage,  means  literally,  boy-leader , the  servant  who  led  boys  to  school, 
not  the  master  who  taught  them  after  they  were  there. 


SAUL  AT  SCHOOL. 


9 


“ from  hearing  the  Scriptures  read  in  the  synagogue, 
from  listening  to  the  arguments  * and  discussions  of 
learned  doctors,  and  from  that  habit  of  questioning  and 
answering  which  was  permitted  even  to  children  among 
the  Jews.”  It  is  not  at  all  improbable  that,  when  a 
boy,  Saul,  with  his  mind  wide-awake  to  all  the  life  of 
his  busy  city,  and  sharpened  by  what  he  heard  and  saw, 
carefully  trained  by  his  Pharisaic  parents,  quick  to  ask 
and  to  answer  questions  at  the  synagogue,  was  known 
as  a child  of  more  than  usual  promise,  and  as  “ one 
likely  to  uphold,”  when  he  should  become  a man,  “ the 
honor  of  the  Scriptures  against  the  half  infidel  teaching 
of  the  day.”  His  parents  and  friends  would  wish  there- 
fore that  he  should  have  a more  careful  training  than  he 
could  obtain  in  a heathen  city;  and  that  at  the  capital 
city  of  Jerusalem  itself,  he  should  learn  more  perfectly 
the  law  of  his  fathers. 

There  are  three  opinions  in  respect  to  the  time  when 
he  went  to  Jerusalem.  The  first  opinion  is,. that  he  was 
sent  by  his  parents,  “ between  the  ages  of  ten  and  thir- 
teen,” since  if  he  went  at  a later  age,  “ he  could  not 
have  said  that  he  had  been  c brought  up  in  Jerusalem.’ 
It  is  thought,  too,  that  as  Paul  before  Agrippa  said, 
1 My  manner  of  life  from  my  youth , which  was  at  the 
first  among  mine  own  nation  at  Jerusalem , know  all  the 
Jews,  which  knew  me  from  the  begmningf  it  implies 
that  he  came  from  Tarsus  at  an  early  age.”  The  second 
opinion  is,  that  “ in  his  youth  he  was  brought  up  in  the 
schools  of  Tarsus,  fully  instructed  in  all  the  arts  and 
sciences,  before  he  went  to  study  the  law  under  Gama 
liel.”  The  third  opinion  is,  that  “ though  as  a Jew  and 
a Pharisee,  he  would  not  be  educated  in  the  heathen 
schools  of  Tarsus,  he  did  not  go  to  Jerusalem  to  be 
trained  under  Gamaliel  till  about  the  age  of  thirty,  and 
after  the  ascension  of  Christ.”  It  seems  more  correct 


10 


0 SECOND  SUNDAY.) 


to  suppose  that  Saul  went  to  Jerusalem  when  he  was 
young.  Perhaps  he  went  to  live  with  that  sister  who 
seems  to  have  lived  afterwards  in  Jerusalem.2  And  we 
may  suppose  he  was  taken  first,  as  the  Saviour  himself 
was  at  about  this  very  time  and  at  twelve  years  of  age, 
by  his  parents  when  they  c went  up  5 to  attend  one  of 
the  great  festivals  of  the  Hebrew  nation.  About  the 
time  of  the  Hebrew  Thanksgiving,  (Feast  of  Taber- 
nacles,) or  of  the  Feast  of  Passover,  when  all  the  men 
journeyed  in  companies  to  the  great  and  holy  city,  the 
Jews  of  Cilicia  and  of  the  surrounding  region  would 
begin  to  gather  in  Tarsus,  either  to  make  up  the  cara- 
van which  would  move  around  the  corner  of  the  sea  to 
Antioch,  and  so  down  the  sea-coast  toward  Palestine, 
or  to  go  aboard  the  swifter  ships,  which  would  take 
them  across  to  Caesarea,  and  then  to  make  the  shorter 
caravan-journey  through  Judea  to  the  capital.  Think 
of  the  wonder  and  delight  with  which  the  Hebrew  boy 
would  long'for  the  day  when  he  would  sail  out  of  the 
clear,  cold  river,  out  of  the  harbor,  on  the  great  Medi- 
terranean, away  and  across  toward  the  beautiful  moun- 
tains where  Abraham  and  Jacob  and  Joshua  once  lived, 
among  which  David  once  led  his  flocks  of  sheep,  to  the 
city  and  to  the  very  temple  in  which  the  holy  child 
Samuel  answered  the  voice  of  the  Lord  in  the  night. 
How  many  pleasant  thoughts  would  crowd  into  his 
mind,  all  along  the  way. 

As  he  sailed  toward  the  high  Mount  Carmel,  where 
Elijah  sent  his  servant  to  look  off  upon  the  sea  for  clouds 
rising  to  give  rain,  as  he  rode  high  on  the  back  of  a 
camel  through  the  ancient  land  of  his  forefathers,  from 
the  sea-coast  up  towards  the  interior,  how  quickly  he 
would  catch  the  conversation  of  his  fellow-travellers, 


2xxiii.  1G. 


SAUL  AT  SCHOOL. 


11 


and  remember  all  he  had  learned  in  the  synagogue.  As 
he  left  Caesarea,  his  father  would  point  out  to  him,  .a»way 
off  on  one  side,  the  distant  hills  of  Mount  Gilboa,  near 


which  his  great  namesake,  King  Saul,  and  his  three  sons 
and  his  armor-bearer  died. 3 As  he  came  to  the  borders 
of  his  own  tribe  of  Benjamin,  he  would  look  for  the  vil- 
lage of  Gibeah,  Saul’s  home,  when  Samuel  anointed 
him  to  be  king,4  and  would  know  that  on  the  further 
border  was  Jerusalem,  with  all  its  glory.  Climbing 
over  the  range  of  hills,  he  saw  the  temple  glittering 
with  gold  ; the  pile  of  sacred  buildings  around  the  shin- 
ing centre  ; he  saw  the  whole  ancient  and  honored  and 
holy  city  surrounded  by  its  wall,  and  beyond,  the  Mount 
of  Olives  ; and,  when  the  caravan-train  wound  its  way 
under  the  arch  of  the  gates  into  the  very  streets,  more 
than  ever  before  would  he  thank  God  he  was  a Jew 
4 of  the  tribe  of  Benjamin,’  and  4 a Hebrew  of  the  He- 
brews.’ Here  he  is  to  finish  his  education.  Here  he 
is  to  learn  and  to  know  more  of  the  history  and  prophe- 
cy and  poetry  of  his  honored  nation.  Here  he  will  min- 

8 1.  Samuel  xxxi.  1-6.  4 1.  Samuel  x.  26  ; xv.  34. 


12 


{SECOND  SUNDAY. ) 


gle  in  the  worship  of  the  very  temple.  Here  he  will  see 
andmhear  the  greatest  doctors  of  the  world.  Here, 
thinks  the  Hebrew  boy,  will  I study  with  zeal  what  I 
now  more  than  ever  love,  and  will  prove  that  I am 
worthy  of  my  tribe  and  family,  and  diligently  will  I 
serve  my  God ! 

Alas!  in  Jerusalem  itself,  Saul  sees  Roman  soldiers, 
just  as  he  has  seen  them  in  Tarsus  and  in  all  the  places 
along  the  route,  reminding  him  that  his  country,  once 
free  under  God,  is  now  ruled  by  foreign  power.  Indeed, 
when  he  first  landed  from  the  sea,  he  had  paid  his  trav- 
elling-fee in  Roman  coin,  and  on  all  the  coin  he  had  taken 
in  Judea,  he  had  seen  the  “ image  and  superscription  ” 
of  the  Roman  emperors ; he  had  heard  Roman  words 
used  in  the  common  conversation  of  the  Jews ; there 
were  Roman  buildings  in^he  towns  through  which  he 
passed  ; and  did  not  the  very  first  city  in  which  he  set 
foot  in  his  native  land,  (Caesarea,)  bear  the  name  of  a 
cruel  tyrant  of  Rome  ? How  the  patriotism  of  the  He- 
brew boy  would  rise,  quick  and  warm  within  him,  when 
he  thought  how  shamefully  his  country  was  oppressed 
by  the  great  empire  which  now  stretched  from  the  dis- 
tant islands  of  Britain  to  the  Euphrates  ! and  especially 
as  he  thought  how  the  governors  appointed  to  rule  oVer 
this  ‘promised’  land  had  sometimes  set  up  and  put 
down  the  high-priests,  just  as  they  liked,  and  how  per- 
haps even  the  schools  of  the  famous  teachers,  to  which 
he  had  come,  might  be  all  interrupted  and  broken  up 
if  any  successor  of  the  impious  Herod  should  wish. 

The  great  schools  at  Jerusalem  were  of  course  reli- 
gious schools.  Two  among  them  were  greatest  of  all, 
and  were  rivals,  as  they  had  been  from  the  days  of 
Ilillel  and  Shammai,  their  foundtbs.  Both  these  schools 
taught  the  traditions  as  well  as  the  law  of  Moses  ; both 
taught  the  doctrines  of  the  Pharisees : but  the  school 


SAUL  AT  SCHOOL . 


13 


of  Hillel  said  tradition  was  better  than  the  law,  and 
above  it,  while  the  school  of  Shammai  said  the  law  was 
the  better  and  the  greater.  The  disputes  between  these 
schools  were  so  violent,  that  it  grew  into  a proverb, 
“that  even  Elijah  the  Tishbite  would  not  be  able  to  re- 
concile the  disciples  of  Hillel  and  Shammai.” 

Hillel  was  grandfather  of  Gamaliel.  When,  therefore, 
Saul  entered  Gamaliel's  school,  and  became  an  earnest 
student  of  tradition  and  of  law,  (putting  tradition  first,  ac- 
cording to  the  school  of  Hillel,)  he  soon  learned  to  be  “ex- 
ceedingly zealous  of  the  traditions  of  his  fathers.” 5  6 Ex- 
cept his  teaching  that  tradition  had  more  authority  than 
the  law  of  Moses,  (which  our  Saviour  so  sharply  rebuk- 
ed,0) Gamaliel  was  perhaps  the  very  best  teacher  Saul 
could  have  had,  other  than  the  Saviour  himself,  to  fit  him 
for  his  future  life.  “ His  learning  was  so  eminent  and 
his  character  so  revered,  that  he  is  one  of  the  seven 
who  alone  among  Jewish  doctors  have  been  honored 
with  the  title  of  c Rabban.’  ” 7 He  was  not  so  bigoted 
as  many  of  the  Pharisees.  Candid  and  wise  as  he  shows 
himself  to  be  when  he  afterwards  gives  advice  to  the 
high-priest  and  the  Sadducees,  when  Peter  and  the  other 
Apostles  are  brought  before  them  for  preaching,8  he  is 
said  to  have  been  c in  reputation  with  all  the  people,’ 
and  it  is  added  that  cto  him  they  agreed.’  Unlike  many 
of  the  Pharisees,  he  made  no  objection  to  studying  the 
learning  of  the  Greeks.9  This  shows  no  small  degree 

5 Galatians  i.  14. 

6 Matt.  xv.  1-6.  Mark  vii.  3-13. 

7 Rab,  master  ; Rabbi,  my  master  ; Rabban  or  Rabboni,  (John  xx. 
16,)  my  great  master. 

8 Acts  v.  17;  29,  34-40. 

9 And  it  may  be  thought,  from  the  fact  that  Saul  was  placed  under 
Gamaliel,  that  his  parents  did  not  object  to  his  attending  the  Greek 

schools  of  Tarsus. 


14 


{SECOND  SUNDAY.) 


of  intelligent  judgment  and  independence  in  Gamaliel, 
for  even  the  Greek  language  had  at  one  time  been  for- 
bidden to  be  taught  to  the  Hebrew  youth.  How  im- 
portant it  was  that  Saul  should  know  both  the  Greek 
language  and  be  familiar  with  the  Greek  writings,  w© 
now  know,  who  have  seen  how  he  was  able  to  preach 
at  Athens  and  at  Corinth,  to  dispute  with  Epicureans 
and  Stoics,  20  and  to  quote  their  own  authors  to  the 
Greeks.11 

We  should  think  of  Saul,  now  growing  to  be  a young 
man,  as  one  of  the  younger  speakers  in  the  assemblies 
of  the  Rabbis  of  Jerusalem,  in  the  midst  of  whom  was 
Gamaliel.  All  are  seated,  as  was  the  custom,  according 
to  their  rank  and  advancement  and  wisdom.  The  prin- 
cipal subjects  of  discussion  are  the  tradition,  the  law,  the 
prophets  and  the  psalms,  the  power  to  interpret  which 
was  “ the  one  thing  most  prized  by  his  countrymen.” 
Some  one,  perhaps  Gamaliel  himself,  reads  a passage 
out  of  the  Hebrew  Bible,  or  gives  out  in  Hebrew  some 
topic  of  discussion,  which  is  translated  into  the  common 
language,  then  interpreted  in  various  ways  by  various 
persons,  illustrated  by  maxims  and  allegories,  compared 
with  the  opinions  of  ancient  Rabbis,  and  last  of  all,  per- 
haps expounded  by  Gamaliel  himself.  The  younger 
students  were  present  to  listen  and  to  inquire,  “ both 
hearing  them  and  asking  them  questions,’  as  our  Sav- 
iour did ; 12  for  it  was  a peculiarity  of  the  Jewish  schools 
that  the  pupil  wa^  encouraged  to  catechise  the  teacher , 
and  contradictory  opinions  were  expressed  with  the 
utmost  freedom.”  Among  the  many  Hebrew  youth 
gathered  in  Jerusalem  from  distant  cities  and  foreign 

10  xvii.  IS. 

nxvii.  28.  I.  Corinth,  xv.  33.  “Evil  communications,’7  etc.,  is  a 
quotation  from  a Greek  Comedy.  Titus  i,  12. 

12  Luke  ii.  46. 


SAUL  AT  SCHOOL. 


15 


lands,  young  Saul  was  certainly  one  of  the  most  active^ 
and  most  promising  students  ; for  he  himself  said  after 
wards  : “ More  zealous  of  the  traditions  of  my  fathers, 
I pushed  forwards  in  the  study  of  the  Jews’  religion, 
above  many  of  my  schoolfellows  of  my  nation.” 13 

Saul  is  now  just  coming  to  manhood,  and  we  can 
think  of  the  result  of  his  education.  That  result,  we 
suppose,  was  something  like  this  : He  was  candid  and 
honest  in  judgment ; he  was  willing  to  study  and  to 
use  the  books  and  the  language  of  the  Greeks  ; he  was 
intensely  zealous  for  the  traditions  and  for  the  law  of 
Moses.  He  had  learned  to  dispute  keenly,  clearly,  and 
learnedly,  and  to  quote  the  Scriptures  quickly  and  aptly. 
He  had  filled  his  memory  with  the  traditions,  with  the 
difficult  points  of  Jewish  controversy,  and  with  the 
opinions  of  the  great  teachers.  Born  a Pharisee,  edu- 
cated at  home  a Pharisee,  trained  in  Jerusalem  by  the 
very  chief  of  the  Pharisees,  he  was  now,  in  his  strong, 
matured  judgment,  heartily  an  advocate  of  the  very 
strictest  school  of  the  Pharisees,  which  taught  tradition 
to  be  superior  to  Moses’  commandments ; and  he  was 
most  rigid  in  his  conscientious  practice  of  washings 
and  prayers  and  fastings,  and  all  the  other  ceremonies. 

13  Galatians  i.  14.  I profited  (the  Greek  word  means  literally  c to 
drive  forward,’  not  unlike  the  English  ‘ to  push  forward,’)  in  the 
Jews’  religion  above  many  my  equals  (literally  equals  in  age  or  fel- 
low-equals) in  mine  own  nation,  being  more  exceedingly  zealous,  eta 


0 SECOND  SUNDAY.) 


QUESTIONS. 

IWIIAT  kind  of  learning  was  there  in  Tarsus  ? 

' * How  would  the  Jews  think  of  it  ? 

Do  you  think  Saul  attended  a Greek  school  ? 

What  kind  of  a school  was  his  ? 

What  did  he  mean,  afterwards,  when  he  said,  “ The  law 
is  our  schoolmaster  to  bring  us  to  Christ ” ? 
Where  was  he  taught  in  religious  things  ? and  how  ? 

Do  you  think  Saul  would  be  well  known  at  the  syna- 
gogue ? 

Why  should  he  go  to  Jerusalem  ? 

What  are  the  three  opinions  in  respect  to  the  time  when  he 
went  to  Jerusalem  ? • 

What  do  ‘ brought  up  in  this  city,’  and  1 from  my  youth  . . . 
at  Jerusalem,’  seem  to  show  ? 

At  what  age  do  you  think  he  went  ? 

What  relative  of  his  probably  lived  in  J erusalem  after- 
wards ? 

With  whom  would  he  go  to  J erusalem  ? 

What  would  he  see  and  think  of  on  the  way  ? 

What  would  he  think  of,  if  he  sailed  past  Mount  Carmel  ? 
What  hills  would  he  see  on  the  way  from  Caesarea  ? 
What  village  would  he  look  for,  as  he  came  to  the  tribe 
of  Benjamin? 

What  would  Saul  think  of,  as  he  entered  Jerusalem  ? 

Is  it  a good  thing  to  make  high  resolutions  at  such  a 
time? 

What  proofs  of  Roman  authority  did  Saul  see  at  Jeru- 
salem, and  on  his  way  ? 

What  did  the  very  name  of  Caesarea  show  ? 

How  might  the  schools  of  Jerusalem  be  interrupted  ? 
What  kind  of  schools  were  the  great  schools  of  Jerusalem? 
What  two  were  greatest  of  all  ? 

Did  they  both  belong  to  one  or  to  different  sects  ? 

Did  they  belong  to  Pharisee  or  Sadducee? 


o SECOND  SUNDAY.) 


What  were  the  doctrines  of  the  Pharisees  ? 

What  the  doctrines  of  the  Sadducees  ? 

What  was  the  one  principal  doctrine  on  which  they  dif- 
fered ? 

What  was  the  difference  between  the  two  schools  ? 
What  was  the  proverb  about  their  bitter  disputing  ? 
When  our  Saviour  rebuked  traditions,  which  one  of 
these  schools  did  he  especially  rebuke  ? 

Who  was  Saul’s  teacher? 

What  was  the  name  of  his  grandfather  ? 

What  was  Saul  taught  4 at  the  feet  of  Gamaliel  ’ ? 

Did  Saul  like  traditions  ? 

What  does  1 zealous  towards  God  ’ mean  ? 

Was  Gamaliel  a good  teacher  for  Saul  ? 

What  kind  of  a man  was  he  ? 

Where  else  is  he  mentioned  in  the  Bible 
What  was  his  advice  in  respect  to  the  Apostles  at  that 
time? 

How  did  he  differ  from  many  Pharisees  ? 

Why  was  it  important  for  Saul  to  know  Greek  ? 

Can  you  mention  any  instances  of  his  quoting  from 
Greek  authors  ? 

What  was  the  manner  of  teaching  ? 

What  was  most  prized? 

Did  the  teacher  question  the  scholar  ? 

Was  Saul  equal  to  his  school-fellows? 

How  do  you  know  ? 

What  does  1 profited  ’ mean  in  that  passage  ? 

How  many  things  can  you  mention  as  the  result  of  Saul’s 
education  ? 

Was  he  more  or  less  a Pharisee  than  before  ? 

What  kind  of  a life  did  Saul  lead  in  J erusalem  ? 

Did  he  like  tradition  more  or  less  than  before  ? 

Is  it  right  to  put  any  thing  before  the  commandments  of  the 
Bible? 

Can  you  think  of  any  things  which  men  do  put  before  these 
commands  ? 

(n 


Cljhft  SxmbixjT, 


SAUL  AND  STEPHEN. 


LESSON. 

I.  Corinthians  xv.  9 ; Acts  xxii.  20  ; vii.  54-60  ; viii.  1-4. 

A NUMBER  of  years  must  have  passed,  after  Saul 
came  up  to  Jerusalem,  before  the  persecution  of 
Stephen  took  place.  If  Saul  came  to  Jerusalem  at  about 
twelve  years  of  age,  there  must  have  been  nearly,  if 
not  quite,  eighteen  years  before  he  makes  his  appear- 
ance at  the  stoning  of  the  first  martyr ; for  soon  after 
Stephen’s  death  he  preached  at  Damascus,  and  it  is  not 
probable  that  he  would  commence  public  preaching  be- 
fore the  usual  priestly  age  of  thirty.  We  may  suppose 
that  Saul  visited  his  home  frequently  during  these 
eighteen  years.  It  may  be  that  he  spent  much  of  his 
time  at  home,  especially  as  he  grew  older,  returning 
now  to  the  schools  of  his  native  town  to  study  the 
Greek  language  and  literature,  so  that  he  might  be 
fully  prepared  to  meet  the  arguments  of  the  heathen  in- 
fidels. During  these  years,  other  children  were  becom- 
ing men.  Years  before,  there  had  been  a child  born  in 
the  hill-country  of  Judah,  not  far  away,  who  was  now 
receiving  his  rough  training  in  the  wilderness  and  in 
the  deserts,  where  he  grew,  c waxing  strong  in  spirit, 
till  the  day  of  his  showing  unto  Israel,’  when  he 
preached  c the  baptism  of  repentance.’  Along  the 
shore  of  the  Lake  of  Galilee  were  boys  mending  their 
fathers’  nets,  who  were  growing  hardy  and  strong  for 
their  future  work,  and  who,  even  before  they  had  grown 


SAUL  AND  STEPHEN 


17 


to  be  men,  were  no  doubt  thinking  of,  and  watchful  for, 
the  Messiah.  The  Great  Teacher,  born  in  Bethle- 
hem, now  nearly  ready  to  fulfil  the  prophetic  words  of 
John  the  Baptist,  was  at  Nazareth,  waiting  for  the  time 
when  his  great  work  should  call  him  into  public  life. 
He,  too,  at  twelve  years  of  age,  had  heard  and  asked 
questions  of  the  doctors  in  the  temple.  He  would 
soon  be  as  old  as  the  priests,  who  at  thirty  entered 
on  their  office,  when  he  would  preach,  and  teach  the 
whole  world  the  most  important  of  all  doctrines. 
How  is  it  that  Saul  never  meets  any  of  these  persons  ? 
How  is  it  that,  while  he  believed  with  his  nation  that  it 
was  the  time  for  the  Messiah  to  appear,  and  Jesus  was 
claiming  to  be  the  Messiah,  and  all  the  wonderful  works 
of  the  Saviour  were  occurring  through  all  the  country, 
and  the  condemnation  and  the  crucifixion  were  taking 
place,  he  seems  not  to  know  of  any  of  these  events  by 
personal  presence  and  sight  ? In  none  of  his  epistles 
or  speeches,  after  his  conversion,  does  he  allude  to  the 
fact  of  having  seen  the  Saviour,  or  of  having  known 
the  disciples,  though  they  all  visited  the  temple,  and 
were  conspicuous  to  all  men  at  the  great  festivals  of  the 
capital.  We  must  think  that  Saul  was  at  this  time  ab- 
sent from  the  city,  and  probably  at  Tarsus,  just  as  after 
his  conversion  he  returns  again  for  a short  time  to  Tar- 
sus.1 If  he  were  absent  only  three  years,  it  will  be  suf- 
ficient to  show  why  he  did  not  meet  Jesus  or  any  of  his 
disciples.  It  is  more  creditable  to  Saul’s  candor  and 
wisdom  and  conscientiousness  to  believe  that  he  was 
busy  with  the  Greek  scholars  of  Tarsus,  and  heard  of 
the  great  events  occurring  in  Judea  only  from  a dis- 
tance : that  he  thought  of  the  miracles  of  Jesus  only 
as  the  work  of  some  extraordinary  and  skilful  magi- 


1 Acts  ix.  30. 


18 


{THIRD  SUNDAY.) 


cian,  and  of  his  disciples  as  a band  of  honest  and  credu* 
Ions  and  deluded  men.  In  all  the  confessions  of  his 
sins  afterwards,  he  never  speaks  of  the  trial  and  cruci- 
fixion of  his  Lord,  as  he  would  have  done  had  he  been 
one  of  the  persecutors  then.  It  was  not  till  after  the 
resurrection  of  Jesus  that  Saul  came  back  to  Jerusalem. 
He  then  found  in  Jerusalem  quite  a number  of  these 
men,  who  had  been  followers  of  Jesus  the  Nazarene,  and 
who  believed  that  he  was  the  Messiah.  He  would  at 
once  think  of  them  as  a new  sect,  who  were  giving  a 
wrong  meaning  to  the  Scriptures,  who  were  trying  to 
make  known  their  pernicious  doctrines,  and  who  ought, 
therefore,  to  be  put  down  as  soon  as  possible.  When 
we  read  that  c certain  men  of  Cilicia  and  of  Asia2 
arose’  to  dispute  with  Stephen,  we  may  think  that  Saul, 
recently  returned  from  Tarsus,  was  among  them,  eager 
to  show  his  zeal  for  the  law  of  his  forefathers,  and  his 
power  of  disputation  against  the  teachers  of  this  new 
doctrine.  Saul  no  doubt  prided  himself  on  his  own 
upright  life,  his  careful  observance  of  all  the  duties  laid 
down  in  the  traditions  and  in  the  law,  and  that  he  was 
faultless  in  washings  and  prayers  and  fastings,  in  phy- 
lacteries and  fringes,  in  sacrifices  and  charities  and  good 
works.  He  would  be  bitterly  provoked  that  any  fol- 
lower of  a teacher,  (a  magician,  perhaps,)  who  had  con- 
demned so  earnestly  the  keeping  of  the  tradition,  should 
be  teaching  in  the  temple,  and  that  the  disciples  of 
Jesus  were  increasing  in  Jerusalem3;  that  great  won- 
ders and  miracles  were  done  among  the  people4 ; and 
that  many  even  of  the  priests3  were  turning  to  this  pre- 
tended Messiah.  With  all  the  earnestness  of  his  nature 

2 Acts  vi.  9.  Proselytes  of  Africa , (from  Cyrene  and  Alexandria,) 
of  Asia  Minor,  (from  Cilicia  and  Asia,)  of  Rome,  (Libertines,  pro- 
bably freed-men  from  Rome.) 

3 vi.  7.  4 vi.  8. 


SAUL  AND  STEPHEN. 


19 


and  the  power  of  his  mind,  he  would  join  with  the 
Pharisees  in  crushing  out  this  new  sect.  Hence  it  is, 
we  suppose,  that  we  have  Saul  introduced  to  us  in  the 
Acts  just  at  this  point,  when  not  only  the  miracles  of 
the  Pentecost  had  been  4 noised  abroad;’5  when  not 
only  the  healing  of  the  lame  man  at  the  gate  of  the 
temple  by  Peter  and  John  was  well  known ; when  not 
only  the  strange  death  of  Ananias  had  caused  excite- 
ment among  the  people ; when  the  resolute  Peter  and 
John  were  braving  the  threats  of  the  chief  council, 
preaching,  in  spite  of  it,  in  the  temple  ; but  when,  also, 
a new  member  of  the  sect,  said  to  possess  more  than 
usual  wisdom,8  was  attracting  the  attention  of  the 
learned  men  of  the  different  synagogues.  Stephen  was 
4 full  of  faith  and  power.’  He  met  the  disputers  from 
Africa  and  Asia  Minor  and  Home2  boldly,  and  c they 
were  not  able  to  resist  the  wisdom  and  the  spirit  by 
which  he  spake.’ 

The  fact  that  they  had  been  defeated  in  fair  argu- 
ment, stirred  the  fury  of  men  bad  at  heart  and  deter- 
mined to  uphold  their  school  and  sect  and  law  by  what- 
ever means.  Murder  was  in  their  hearts,  and  it  soon 
came  out  in  words  of  falsehood  and  crime.  When  we 
read  that  they  4 suborned  men,’  (hired  men  to  perjure 
themselves,)  and  hear  also  afterward  from  Paul’s  own 
lips,  4 1 have  lived  in  all  good  conscience  before  God 
unto  this  day,’7  we  cannot  suppose  that  Saul  deliber- 
ately helped  to  bribe  a false  witness  to  perjure  himself 
for  the  purpose  of  taking  life.  It  is  by  no  means  pro- 
bable that  all  of  the  J ews  consented  to  this  most  wicked 
act  of  perjury ; but  when  the  witnesses  appeared,  Saul 
no  doubt  took  little  pains  to  inquire  into  their  character, 
and  w^as  glad  of  any  pretext  by  which  this  pestilent 


6 Chap,  ii : 6.  6 vi.  10, 


7 xxiii  1. 


20 


{THIRD  SUNDAY.) 


Stephen  could  be  got  out  of  the  way.  In  the  midst  of 
all  this  excitement,  when  ‘ they  stirred  up  all  the  people 
and  the  elders  and  scribes,’  and  caught  Stephen,  and 
brought  him  to  the  council,  Saul  must  have  watched 
every  event  with  the  most  eager  eye ; and  he  must 
have  hoped  that  Stephen  would  be  brought  to  silence, 
if  not  to  punishment  and  to  death.  It  was  in  this  very 
trial  of  Stephen,  no  doubt,  that  Saul’s  bitterness  be- 
came more  and  more  inflamed.  He  was  one  who  looked 
on  that  face,  like  ‘ the  face  of  an  angel,’  while  the 
high-priest  put  the  customary  charge : ‘Are  these  things 
so  ?’  And  that  pure  and  shining  countenance  did  not 
win  his  heart,  but  rather  fired  his  persecuting  spirit. 
He  heard  Stephen’s  speech  before  the  council.8  At 
first  he  approved  of  it,  and  prided  himself  in  his  right- 
eousness perhaps,  while  Stephen  was  giving  the  history 
of  the  race ; but  when  the  honest,  faithful  man  called 
all  the  council  stiff-necked,  uncircumcised,  resisters  of 
God’s  Spirit,  persecutors,  betrayers,  murderers,9 all  the 
haughty  pride  of  his  Pharisaic  nature,  and  all  the  power 
of  his  education,  rose  in  a moment,  and  fixed  his  pur- 
pose to  condemn  him.  ‘ Cut  to  the  heart,’  ‘ gnashing 
on  him  with  his  teeth,’  he,  like  the  rest,  was  only  pro- 
voked the  more  by  the  calm  serenity  of  the  culprit ; 
and  now,  when  their  passion  was  overflowing,  it  needed 
but  those  other  words  of  Stephen,  ‘ I see  the  Son  of 
Man  at  the  right  hand  of  God,’  to  let  loose  all  restraint. 
Blind  and  unreasoning,  stirred  to  the  depths  of  their 
sensitive  pride,  boiling  with  rage,  all  was  over.  How 
there  was  only  a violent,  relentless,  cruel  mob.  They 
cried  out  with  a loud  voice ; they  rent  their  clothes  ; 
they  ran  upon  him  with  one  accord ; they  cast  him  out 
of  their  city.  And  now  Saul,  a maddened  bigot  against 
the  truth,  kept  the  garments  which  the  witnesses  had 


8 vii.  2-53. 


9 vii.  51,  52. 


SAUL  AND  STEPHEN 


21 


laid  off  that  they  might  stone  him.  While  the  angelic 
Stephen,  with  the  light  of  heaven  on  his  face,  and  the 
prayer  of  Jesns  on  his  lips,  received  the  blows  of  his 
brutal  murderers,  Saul  kept  their  garments,  that  they 
might  the  more  easily  do  their  murderous  deed.  He 
consented,  or  approved  of  it,  as  the  word  means.  We 
are  therefore  fully  prepared  for  what  follows.  Once 
permitting  his  wicked  passion  and  pride  to  master  him, 
thinking  his  rage  and  prejudice  were  religion,  he  en- 
tered into  the  persecution  wfith  all  his  heart.  While 
devout  men  carried  Stephen  to  his  burial,  Saul  c made 
havoc  of  the  church,  entering  into  every  house,  and 
haling  men  and  women,  committed  them  to  prison.’ 
How  much  he  was  doing  for  the  very  religion  he  aimed 
to  destroy  ! He  scattered  the  disciples  of  Jesus  ; and 
filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  they  went  everywhere 
preaching  the  word. 


{THIRD  SUNDAY.) 


QUESTIONS. 

TTOW  many  years  were  there  between  Saul’s  coming  to  Jeru- 
salem  and  the  stoning  of  Stephen  ? 

How  do  you  know  ? 

Was  Saul  in  Jerusalem  all  these  years  ? 

What  other  persons  were  there  in  other  parts  of  the 
land  ? 

How  is  it  that  Saul  meets  none  of  these  persons  ? 

Why  may  we  think  Saul  was  not  in  Jerusalem  during 
our  Saviour’s  public  ministry  ? 

When  did  he  probably  return  to  Jerusalem? 

What  did  he  now  find  ? 

What  would  he  think  of  these  persons  ? 

Why  may  we  suppose  that  Saul  was  one  of  those  who 
disputed  with  Stephen  ? 

Repeat  the  verse. 

How  do  you  show  that  there  were  representatives  from 
Europe,  Asia  and  Africa  ? 

What  would  touch  his  pride,  as  belonging  to  that  school 
which  held  the  supremacy  of  tradition  ? 

What  events  had  recently  occurred  in  Jerusalem  ? 
What  new  member  of  the  new  sect  now  appears  ? 

What  kind  of  a man  is  he? 

Which  is  the  better,  faith  or  wisdom  ? Why  ? 

Is  a man  who  has  faith  .ever  entirely  destitute  of  wis- 
dom ? 

Whom  did  he  meet  in  dispute  ? 

Who  had  the  better  argument  ? 

What  was  the  result  ? 

What  is  meant  by  4 suborn  ’ ? 

Do  you  think  Saul  4 suborned  ’ men  ? 

What  did  he  have  to  do  with  the  4 suborned  men  ’ ? 
What  would  Saul  hope  ? 

What  effect  did  Stephen’s  speech  have  on  Saul’s  mind  ? 
What  did  he  probably  think  when  Stephen  began  ? 

(5) 


0 ( THIRD  SUNDAY.) 


What  especially  cut  him  to  the  heart  ? 

What  good  thing  will  4 cut  people  to  the  heart  ’ now  ? 
What  added  most  of  all  to  Saul’s  rage  ? 

What  does  4 gnashed  on  him  with  their  teeth  ’ show  ? 
Do  you  think  Stephen  had  a vision  of  heaven  ? 

Whom  did  Stephen  see  in  heaven  ? 

Which  person  of  the  Trinity  gave  Stephen  power  to  see 
Jesus  ? 

Who  gives  power  to  see  spiritual  things  ? 

If  we  ever  see  Jesus  in  heaven,  whose  guidance  will  lead 
us  there? 

Why  did  they  stop  their  ears  ? 

Did  Stephen  have  a regular  trial  ? 

What  did  Saul  have  to  do  with  the  witnesses  ? 

Did  Saul  help  stone  Stephen  ? 

Whose  dying  prayer  did  Stephen  use  ? 

To  4 fall  asleep  ’ like  Stephen,  at  the  last,  what  must  we 
have? 

Did  Saul  like  the  death  of  Stephen  ? 

When  he  4 consented,’  did  he  only  give  permission  ? 
What  act  shows  that  he  publicly  consented  ? 

What  did  Saul  mistake  for  religion  ? 

Can  you  think  of  anything  in  men  themselves  which 
they  sometimes  mistake  for  religion  ? 

Do  you  suppose  Saul  forgot  the  death  of  Stephen  ? 
What  effect  might  Stephen’s  prayer  have  had  on  him  ? 
Who  buried  Stephen  ? 

Is  it  right  to  lament  over  friends  ? 

Is  it  right  to  grieve  for  friends  who,  we  are  satisfied,  are 
in  heaven  ? 

What  was  Saul  now  doing  ? 

Did  he  overthrow  the  new  sect  ? 

What  did  he  do  ? 

What  is  the  better  way  to  treat  any  despised  cause, 
when  it  is  first  advocated  ? 

Who  were  left  in  Jerusalem? 

What  did  Paul  think  of  his  own  conduct  afterwards  ? 
Did  he  ever  condemn  his  feelings  against  Stephen  ? 

(6) 


Jmdlj  Stmbajr. 


THE  CONVERSION. 


LESSOH. 

Acts  viii.  3 ; ix.  1-18  ; xxii.  4-16  ; xxiii.  1 ; xxvi.  9-15. 

6;  rjlHERE  are  strong  grounds  for  believing  that  if 
^ Saul  was  not  a member  of  the  Sanhedrim  at  the 
time  of  Stephen’s  death,  he  was  elected  into  that  pow- 
erful Senate  soon  after : possibly  as  a reward  for  his  zeal 
against  the  heretic,  for  he  himself  says  that  when  the 
Christians  were  put  to  death,  4 1 gave  my  vote  against 
them.’  ” 1 If  he  were  a member  of  this  national  council, 
he  must  have  been  married,  for  it  is  said  one  of  the 
qualifications  for  the  office  was,  that  the  person  should 
be  both  husband  and  father.  Whether  he  was  or  was 
not  a member  of  the  Sanhedrim,  he  was  trusted  by  them 
as  one  who  would  execute  their  plans  for  rooting  out 
the  new  sect.  He  was  chief  man  in  the  persecution, 
and  his  persecution  grew  more  and  more  bitter  and  vio- 
lent. He  made  havoc  of  the  Church ; he  went  into 
every  house  ; he  haled  men  and  women,  (the  old  Eng- 
lish word  for  haid , to  drag  ;2)  he  bound  them  ; he  shut 
them  up  in  prison ; in  every  synagogue  he  punished 
them ; and  though  he  had  succeeded  in  driving  the 

1 xxvi.  10.  The  word  voice  means  strictly  a pebble  used  for  voting, 
and  so  a vote  or  voice. 

2 As  in  Spenser’s  Fairy  Queen  : 

1 Him  sternly  grypt  and  hailing  to  and  fro, 

To  overthrow  him  strongly  did  assay/ 


THE  CONVERSION. 


23 


most  of  the  disciples  from  the  city,  he  was  still  breath- 
ing in  (as  the  word  may  be  translated)  threatening  and 
slaughter.  He  dragged  forth  even  the  women,  although, 
in  the  East,  the  women  are  kept  so  secluded.  He  shut 
them  up  in  prison.  He  gave  his  voice  against  the  dis- 
ciples to  the  death ; and,  the  worst  of  all,  he  tried  to 
make  them  blaspheme  the  name  of  their  Lord.  His 
name  as  a persecutor  had  become  notorious  in  the  dis- 
tant city  of  Damascus.  Many  had  brought  to  Ananias3 
the  report  of  his  horrible  injustice,  and  far  and  near, 
he  was  the  terror  of  all  believers.  His  own  sorrow  af- 
terwards, shows  how  malignant  was  his  spirit,  for  it  was 
in  his  own  speeches  afterwards  in  Jerusalem,4  and  at 
Caesarea,5  that  he  confessed  with  shame  these  crimes  ; 
and  in  his  letters,  too,  he  laments  how  he  4 persecuted 
beyond  measure  the  Church  of  God  and  laid  it  waste,56 
how  he  was  4 a blasphemer  and  a persecutor,  and  inju- 
rious 5 ; 7 how  he  felt  that  he  was  not  fit  to  be  4 called 
an  Apostle  because  he  persecuted  the  Church  of  God.5  8 

It  may  be  that  Saul  seized  also  Samaritans  and  Gen- 
tiles. More  cities  than  Damascus  felt  the  power  of  his 
fierce  hate.  Perhaps  the  Samaritans,  in  whose  city 
there  had  been  great  joy  that  Philip  had  preached  to 
them  as  well  as  to  Jews,  and  the  many  Samaritan  vil 
lages9  in  which  Peter  and  John  preached,  had  proof 
of  Saul’s  double  spite  against  them  as  Samaritans  and 
Christians. 

Mad  with  fury  and  blind  bigotry,  Saul  tried  to  carry 
his  persecutions  to  the  beautiful  city  of  Damascus.  We 
do  not  suppose  the  chief  priests  had  any  civil  authority 
over  Damascus,  but  only  an  ecclesiastical  authority,  as 
the  Pope  of  Rome  claims  ecclesiastical  power  over 
distant  and  foreign  countries.  What  was  the  route  ho 

six.  13.  4xxii.  5 xxvi.  10,  11.  8 Galatians  i.  13.  7 1.  Tim.  i.  13. 

8 1.  Corinth,  xv.  9.  9 Acts  viii.  5,  8,  25.  * 


24 


( FOURTH  SUNDAY.) 


oCaxiT, 


took  we  do  not  know.  He  would  first  go  north,  through 
that  Samaria  and  that  Galilee  in  which  lay  so  many 
Scenes  of  our  Saviour’s  life,  persecuting,  perhaps,  as  lie 


THE  CONVERSION. 


25 


went,  all  lie  found  c of  that  way.’  He  might  then  follow 
the  road  up  the  Jordan,  around  the  Sea  of  Galilee,  and 
cross  the  river  just  below  the  little  Lake  Merom,  or  still 
following  the  small  streams  of  the  upper  Jordan,  strike 
the  road  from  Tyre  to  Damascus  somewhere  near  Caesa- 
rea Philippi ; but  he  would  more  probably  take  the 
most  direct  course,  and  cross  the  Jordan  below  the  Sea 
of  Galilee.  As  he  rode  along  the  tops  of  the  hills  in 
Samaria,  he  would  get  occasional  glimpses  of  the  Medi- 
terranean. Further  on  he  would  look  down  on  the  blue 
waters  of  Gennesaret,  now  perhaps  hateful  in  his  glaring 
eye,  as  the  place  where  the  Nazarene  wrought  his  magic 
wonders ; and  in  the  far  distance  he  would  see  the 
glistening  snow  of  Mount  Hermon,  near  Damascus  it- 
self. After  he  had  crossed  the  Jordan,  he  would  take 
his  tedious  journey  through  one  vast  desert  plain.  “All 
around  are  stony  hills,  through  which  the  withered 
stems  of  the  scanty  vegetation  hardly  penetrate.  Over 
this  desert,  under  the  burning  sky,  full  of  fiery  zeal,  the 
impetuous  Saul  holds  his  course.  When  some  eminence 
is  gained,  the  vast  horizon  is  seen  stretching  on  all  sides, 
except  where  the  steep  sides  of  Lebanon  interrupt  it, 
like  the  ocean  without  a boundary.  Damascus,  at 
length  anxiously  looked  for,  is  seen  from  afar,  resting 
in  the  green  enclosure  of  its  beautiful  gardens,  like  an 
island  of  Paradise  in  the  desert.”  Wearied  with  his 
long  journey,  no  sight  can  be  more  refreshing  ; for  the 
view  is  one  of  the  most  celebrated,  and  the  city  is  one 
of  the  most  illustrious  in  the  world.  Damascus  is  one 
of  the  two  oldest  cities  in  the  world.  It  was  already 
built  in  the  time  of  Abraham.10  David  fortified  it  with 

10  Genesis  xiv.  15;  xv.  2.  ‘Josephus  makes  it  even  older  than 
Abraham/  Hebron  is  mentioned  first,  but  it  may  not  have  been 
older.  Genesis  xiii.  18. 


26 


(. FOURTH  SUNDAY.) 


a garrison,  when  it  was  a part  of  his  kingdom.11  It 
made  trouble  to  Solomon.12  Naaman,  the  Syrian  Gen- 
eral, proudly  told  Elisha  that  the  sweet,  fresh  waters 
of  Damascus  were  “ better  than  all  the  waters  of  Is- 
rael.” 13  Its  merchants,  and  the  merchants  of  Syria, 
over  which  it  was  capital,  brought  to  the  fairs  of  the 
rich  city  of  Tyre,  emeralds,  purple  embroidery,  fine 
linen,  coral,  and  agates.  They  expended  a c multitude 
of  riches,’  and  bore  away  from  Tyre  a c multitude  of 
wares.’ 14  To  the  time  of  Saul  it  continued  to  be  a rich, 
a powerful,  a beautiful  emporium  of  trade,  between  the 
countries  on  the  Mediterranean  and  the  distant  Persia 
and  India,  as  to  this  very  day  the  costly  merchandise 
of  the  distant  West  and  the  distant  East  meet  in  its 
streets.  About  thirty  or  forty  years  before  Saul’s  birth, 
Pompey  the  Great  “ received  at  Damascus  ambassadors 
and  presents  from  the  neighboring  kings,  and  the  next 
year  all  Syria  became  a Roman  province.” 15  The  life 
of  Damascus  is  its  rivers  and  fountains  and  lakes.  The 
streams  which  rise  in  the  mountains  of  Lebanon,  become 
one  c deep,  broad,  rushing  ’ river,  as  they  flow  eastward 
towards  the  city ; and  at  length  the  river  “ is  drawn 
out  again  into  watercourses  and  spread  in  all  directions. 
For  miles  around,  is  a wilderness  of  gardens,  with  roses 
in  the  tangled  shrubbery,  and  with  fruit  on  the  branches 
overhead.  Everywhere  among  the  trees  the  murmur 
of  unseen  rivulets  is  heard.  Every  dwelling  has  its 
fountain;  and  at  night,  when  the  sun  has  set  behind 
Mount  Lebanon,  the  lights  of  the  city  are  seen  flashing 
on  the  waters.”  “ Without  the  waters  of  this  river, 

11 II.  Sam.  Tiii.  6.  19 1.  Kings  xi.  24,  25.  13 II.  Kings  v.  12. 

14  Ezekiel,  xxvii.  16,  18. 

13  While  Saul  was  at  Damascus,  the  city  was  under  the  temporary 
rale  of  Aretas,  King  of  Arabia  Petrcea,  (II.  Corinth,  xi.  32,  33,)  but 
it  soon  became  subject  again  to  the  Romans. 


THE  CONVERSION. 


27 


the  splendid  plain  would  be  a desert ; with  them,  it 
is  an  earthly  paradise,  luxuriating  with  fields  of  the 
heaviest  grain,  as  also  with  groves  and  orchards  of  the 
finest  fruit.  Damascus  is  still  a gem,  4 the  eye  of  the 
whole  East.5  55  44A11  travellers  in  all  ages  have  paused 

to  feast  the  eyes  with  this  prospect,  on  which  Saul 
looked  ; and  the  prospect  has  always  been  the  same.55 

On  his  wicked  and  awful  errand,  the  bold  man  ap- 
proaches this  ancient  and  beautiful  city.  Here,  under 
the  glow  and  heat  of  an  Eastern  sun  at  mid-day,  just  as 
he  expects  to  reach  the  city  of  rest  and  comfort,  he  is 
struck  down,  blinded  and  astonished  by  that  Flashing 
Light,  more  brilliant  than  the  noon-day  brightness. 
All  his  attendants  are  terrified,  bewildered,  and  dumb.16 

And  there  appeared  to  Saul  in  the  light,  One  whom 
he  now  saw  was  Jesus  the  Despised.  From  him  came 
a voice  of  authority  : 4 Why  persecutest  thou  me  ? 5 

It  was  then  the  awaked  man  saw  what  an  awful  crime 
lie  had  been  committing,  and  that  Jesus  of  Nazareth 
was  the  Messiah.  44  I am  Jesus  whom  thou  persecutest .” 
44  He  does  not  say,  4 1 am  the  Son  of  God  — the  Eter- 
nal Word — the  Lord  of  men  and  of  angels,5  but,  4 1 am 
Jesus,  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  who  was  mocked  and  cruci- 
fied, who  was  buried  and  who  rose  from  the  dead,  and 

16  In  Acts  ix.  7,  it  is  said  that  Saul’s  companions  * stood  speechless/ 
and  in  xxvi.  14,  that  all  fell  to  the  earth.  There  is  no  contradiction. 
In  the  xxvi.  chapter,  they  fall  before  the  voice  speaks ; in  the  ix.,  it 
is  after  the  voice  speaks,  and  Saul  answers,  the  voice  speaks  again, 
and  Saul  answers  again,  and  the  voice  speaks  the  third  time,  that  the 
men  with  Saul  stood.  All  but  Saul  had  risen.  There  had  been  abun- 
dant time,  after  the  first  awful  surprise,  for  them  to  rise. — In  ix.  7, 
the  men  are  said  to  stand,  4 hearing  a voice;  ’ in  xxii.  9,  it  is  said  they 
4 heard  not  the  voice.’  There  is  no  contradiction,  if  we  suppose  that 
in  one  case  it  is  meant  that  they  heard  the  sound  of  the  voice,  as  we 
say  we  hear  the  voice  of  thunder,  and  in  the  other  that,  they  heard  not 
the  words  of  the  voice. 


28 


(. FOURTH  SUNDAY.) 


who  now  appears  to  thee  that  thou  mayest  know  the 
truth  of  my  resurrection,  that  I may  convince  thee  of 
thy  sin  and  call  thee  to  be  my  Apostle.’  ” Submitting 
to  that  call,  he  is  directed  what  to  do  ; and,  arising  and 
opening  his  eyes,  dark  and  blind,  he  is  led  into  Damas- 
cus ; not  now  to  persecute,  but,  in  the  agony  of  his 
deep  contrition  and  shame,  to  be  separate  from  all  men. 
There  he  is  left  alone . No  disciple  of  Jesus  would 
come  to  him  to  give  him  sympathy,  for  they  were  all 
terrified  at  his  coming  to  Damascus ; and  he  would 
shrink  with  horror  from  the  Jews  who  still  reviled  the 
true  Messiah.  He  is  alone  ; alone  to  think  of  his  former 
life;  alone  to  think  of  his  raging  wickedness,  of  his  proud 
hatred  and  blind  prejudice  against  Jesus  the  Son  of  Jo- 
seph ; alone  to  think  that  same  Jesus  had  proved,  by  the 
especial  favor  of  a miracle,  that  He  was  the  Messiah ; 
alone  to  confess  all  his  wickedness ; alone,  fasting  and 
praying  and  receiving  pardon  from  Jesus  his  Lord  and 
his  Christ.  And  now  he  prayed  as  he  had  never  prayed 
befbre.  Now  he  saw  that  all  his  prayers  which,  as  a 
Pharisee,  he  had  repeated  from  a child,  were  idle  and 
vain  repetitions.  Now,  as  he  gave  up  all  his  ambitious 
plans  for  life,  his  thought  of  being  a great  scholar  and 
Doctor  among  the  Rabbis  of  Jerusalem ; now,  as  he 
made  that  other  greater  sacrifice  of  his  opinion  and  his 
will,  he  humbly  prayed  to  Jesus,  his  former  enemy,  his 
glorious  Lord,  for  pardon  and  for  some  place  in  his  ser- 
vice. The  same  Jesus  sent  his  messenger  to  open  his 
eyes  by  a miracle,  and  to  teach  him  that  he  must  him- 
self suffer  and  be  persecuted,  and  preach  the  name  of 
the  Son  of  Joseph  c to  Gentiles  and  to  kings  and  to  the 
children  of  Israel.’ 


( FOURTH  SUNDAY.) 


QUESTIONS. 


YWHAT  reason  is  there  to  suppose  that  Saul  was  a member 
’’  of  the  Sanhedrim  ? 


What  does  ‘ I gave  my  voice  against  them,’  mean  ? 

Name  as  many  distinct  acts  of  his  persecution  in  Jerusalem 
as  you  can. 

What  is  the  meaning  of  1 haling  ’ ? 

How  may  the  words  ‘ breathing  out  ’ be  translated  ? 

What  was  the  worst  act  of  all  ? 

Can  you  prove  that  Saul’s  reputation  as  a persecutor 
had  extended  beyond  J erusalem  ? 

How  do  you  certainly  know  that  his  spirit  was  malig- 
nant ? 

Did  Saul  think  in  his  heart  that  he  was  right  ? 

May  a man  be  conscientiously  cruel?  conscientiously 
wicked  ? 

Did  Saul  ever  regret  his  conscientious  persecution  after- 
wards ? 

Is  it  a duty  to  have  a right  conscience  ? 

While  Saul  is  persecuting  at  Jerusalem,  where  are 
Philip  and  Peter  and  John  ? 

Did  Saul  go  to  more  than  one  strange  city  ? 

What  authority  would  a priest  in  Jerusalem  have  in 
Damascus  ? 

What  parts  of  the  land,  in  which  our  Saviour  had  espe 
cially  been,  would  he  pass  through  ? 

What  would  he  be  likely  to  think  of,  when  he  saw  Lake 
Gennesaret  ? 

Where  do  you  think  he  crossed  the  Jordan  ? 

What  kind  of  country  is  he  in  after  crossing  the  Jordan  ? 

What  kind  of  a city  is  Damascus  ? 

What  events  in  its  history  can  you  state  ? 

In  what  kind  of  scenery  is  the  city  ? 

How  many  separate  accounts  are  there  of  Saul’s  conversion  ? 

Where  are  they,  and  which  is  the  most  complete  ? 

(v) 


(. FOURTH  SUNDAY.) 


Does  the  same  person  give  them  all  ? 

At  what  time  of  day  did  the  miracle  take  place  ? 

What  do  you  think  of  Saul’s  being  deceived  at  such  a 
time  and  in  such  a place  ? 

Could  this  be  lightning  ? 

What  was  the  effect  on  the  men  with  him  ? 

How  do  you  reconcile  4 stood  speechless,’  (ix.  7,)  and 
4 all  fallen  to  the  earth  ’ (xxvi.  14)  ? 

How  do  you  reconcile  4 hearing  a voice ,’  (ix.  7,)  and 
4 heard  not  a voice  ’ (xxii.  9)  ? 

How  was  Saul  persecuting  Jesus  himself? 

What  is  it  to  4 kick  against  the  pricks  ’ ? 

What  meaning  is  there  in  the  answer,  4 1 am  Jesus  of 
Nazareth*  ? 

Why  did  he  now  tremble  ? ' 

Why  should  a clear  and  powerful  conception  of  God  or 
of  the  Saviour  make  men  tremble  ? 

Did  Saul  see  Jesus  at  the  time  of  the  miracle  ? 

Was  the  conversion  now,  or  when  he  is  said  to  pray  at  Da- 
mascus ? 

What  does  his  question  show  in  respect  to  the  surren- 
der of  himself? 

How  long  a time  is  necessary  to  be  converted  ? 

Why  was  Saul  now  alone  in  Damascus  ? 

How  did  Ananias  feel  about  going  to  him  ? 

What  kind  of  a man  was  Ananias  ? 

What  reason  is  given  why  he  should  go  ? 

What  Christian  virtues  did  it  require  in  Ananias  to  go 
to  him  ? 

What  was  Saul  doing  and  thinking  before  Ananias  came  ? 
Had  Saul  been  accustomed  to  pray  before  ? 

Was  it  easy  for  Saul  to  become  a Christian  ? 

What  two  great  sacrifices  did  it  cost  Saul  ? 

How  does  it  cost  every  one  the  same  two  things  now, 
to  be  a Christian  ? 

(8), 


DAMASCUS,  ARABIA,  AND  TARSUS. 


LESSON. 

Acts  ix.  19-30  ; xxii.  15-21 ; xxvi.  16-20;  Galatians  i.  15  *23  ; 
II.  Corinthians  xi.  32,  33. 

THE  work  of  Saul’s  future  life  was  at  once  revealed  to 
him  at  the  time  of  his  conversion.1  Least  of  all  had 
that  proud  Pharisee  thought  that  he  would  ever  preach 
to  Gentiles.  But  so  complete  was  his  surrender  of  him- 
self to  the  first  command  of  his  Messiah,  that,  with  all 
the  ardor  of  his  strong  nature,  he  accepted  the  service 
assigned  him.  CA  minister  and  a witness  of  the  things 
he  had  seen,’  and  of  those  things  he  was  yet  to  see, 
he  now  was  to  go  especially  to  the  Gentiles.2  And 
yet  he  was  to  preach  to  the  Jews  wherever  he  had  op- 
portunity. 

NTo  sooner,  therefore,  had  he  recovered  strength  from 
the  exhaustion  to  which  the  shock  to  his  physical  system 
and  his  anguish  and  fasting  had  reduced  him,  than  he 
boldly  preached  Christ  in  the  synagogues.  The  disci- 
ples of  Jesus  had  now  gathered  around  him.  And  now 
it  was  that  all  his  previous  training  came  to  the  assist- 
ance of  the  cause  he  had  once  despised.  He  knew  the 
Scriptures ; he  knew  the  teaching  of  the  Rabbis,  even 
those  of  Jerusalem;  he  knew  the  traditions.  Ail  his 
accurate  learning  in  their  minute  investigations  was  not 

1 1.  Corinth,  ix.  1 ; xv.  8 ; Acts  ix.  17,  27 ; xxii.  14;  xxvi.  16. 

2 See  too  I.  Timothy  ii.  7. 


30 


yriFTH  SUNDAY.) 


lost,  for  lie  knew  every  form  and  phase  of  the  argument 
which  any  Jew  could  advance.  Out  of  their  own  Scrip- 
tures, and  with  unusual  power,  he  could  prove  that 
Jesus  the  Nazarene  was  the  Son  of  God.  The  Jews 
‘ that  heard  him  were  amazed.’  They  knew  his  reputa- 
tion at  Jerusalem  : they  knew  with  what  fiery  Pharisaic 
zeal  and  with  what  authority,  he  had  come  to  Damas- 
cus : they  knew  what  he  meant  to  do  when  he  reached 
Damascus.  And  now,  instead  of  ‘ arresting’  and  ‘haling’ 
and  ‘ imprisoning’  and  accusing  to  the  death  men  and 
women  too,  and  sending  them  off  under  safe  escort  to 
Jerusalem,  he  was  advocating  with  all  his  eminent 
ability  the  Nazarene  cause,  and  giving  it  his  warmest 
sympathy  and  love. 

Saul’s  preaching  was  directed  to  the  two  points : First, 
The  Messiah,  the  Christ,  is  the  Son  of  God  f he  unfolded 
from  the  Scriptures  the  true  nature  of  the  Messiah’s 
spiritual  kingdom ; and,  secondly,  This  Jesus  is  that 
very  Messiah ,4  and  has  already  established  his  spiritual 
kingdom  in  the  heart  of  his  disciples.  The  more  he 
reflected,  the  more  he  saw  how  all  the  works  of  Jesus 
fulfilled  the  Scriptures.  Increasing  more  in  strength 
therefore,  ‘he  confounded  the  Jews  which  dwelt  in 
Damascus.’ 

Saul  was  not  probably  long  at  Damascus  immediately 
after  his  conversion.  When  it  is  said,  ‘ after  many  days 
were  fulfilled,’  his  life  in  Arabia,  and  his  dwelling  in 
Damascus  the  second  time,  are  doubtless  included. 
“The  fury  of  the  Jews  must  have  been  excited  to  the 
utmost  pitch.”  He  must,  therefore,  leave  Damascus. 
But  it  would  not  do  to  go  back  at  once  to  Jerusalem. 
The  Jewish  fury  would  be  doubled  against  him  there. 
His  life  would  not  be  worth  a tithe  of  annis  there ; and 
even  if  he  should  escape,  the  people  would  be  too  much 


ix-  20. 


4 2 2d  verse. 


DAMASCUS,  ARABIA , AND  TARSUS. 


31 


enraged  now  to  listen  to  him  candidly.  He  did  not 
need  the  instruction  of  the  other  apostles  at  Jerusalem. 
He  knew  the  Scriptures  perhaps  better  than  they ; the 
Divine  Spirit  had  wrought  in  him  the  great  change,  and 
Jesus  himself  had  instructed  him.  He  was  no  doubt 
divinely  guided  to  retire  into  seclusion.  He  did  not, 
therefore,  go  “to  Jerusalem  to  those  who  were  apostles 
before  him,  but  he  went  into  Arabia,  and  returned 
again  to  Damascus.”5 

There  is  so  much  difference  of  meaning  in  the  word 
‘Arabia,’  as  it  is  used  by  different  geographers,  that  it 
cannot  be  determined  with  any  certainty  where  Saul 


• Galatians  i.  17,  18. 


32 


(FIFTH  SUNDAY.) 


went.  The  whole  northern  portion  of  Arabia  is  so  com. 
posed  of  endless  desert  plains  stretching  to  the  north 
and  east  towards  Palestine,  Mesopotamia,  and  Baby- 
lonia, that  its  boundary  has  never  been  exactly  fixed. 
Even  the  three  great  divisions  of  Arabia  have  their 
boundaries  but  loosely  drawn.  . Along  down  the  coast 
of  the  Red  Sea,  and  in  the  south-west  corner  of  the  great 
Arabian  peninsula,  was  Happy  Arabia,  fruitful  and  rich, 
(Arabia  Felix.)  The  great  central  and  northern  deserts, 
stretching  across  the  wilderness  and  plains  towards  the 
Euphrates  and  Damascus  and  the  Jordan,  was  Desert 
Arabia,  (Arabia  Deserta.)  The  Great  Rocky  Wilder- 
ness, from  the  south  of  Palestine  dpwn  into  the  small 
peninsula  between  the  two  heads  of  the  Red  Sea,  was 
Rocky  Arabia,  (Arabia  Petraea,)  with  Petra  its  capital. 
It  is  more  probable  that  Saul  retired  either  into  the 
borders  of  Desert  Arabia,  and  did  not  go  far  from  Da- 
mascus, or  that  he  went  into  Rocky  Arabia,  and  it  may 
be  trod  the  hallowed  ground  of  Horeb  and  of  Sinai. 
It  may  be  that  he  preached  th#  Gospel  in  rock-hewn 
Petra  ; it  may  be  that  he  spoke  of  Jesus  to  the  Arabian 
Christians  who  were  at  Jerusalem  during  the  Pentecost 
Festival  ;6  it  may  be  that  to  wise  men  of  the  East  he 
described  the  great  mission  of  the  Babe  of  Bethlehem ; 
it  may  be  that  for  communion  with  God  alone,  and  for 
repentance,  he  sought  the  solitudes  of  that  wild  and 
silent  region,  and  like  Moses,  like  Elijah,  even  like 
Christ  himself,  was  strengthened  ‘in  the  wilderness’  for 
his  great  work  by  especial  "divine  influences. 

Precisely  how  long  he  was  in  Arabia  we  do  not  know. 
But  when  he  left  Damascus  the  second  time  for  Jerusa- 
lem, it  was  at  least  ‘three  years  after’  his  conversion. 
This  may  mean  indeed  only  parts  of  three  years,  as  the 
‘ three  days’  between  the  crucifixion  and  resurrection, 


Acts  ii.  11. 


DAMASCUS,  ARABIA , AND  TARSUS . 


83 


according  to  the  Jewish  mode  of  reckoning,  means 
parts  of  three  days,  (a  part  of  the  first  day,  the  whole 
of  the  second,  and  a part  of  the  third.)  He  must  have 
been  in  Arabia  more  than  one  year. 

Once  more  he  stepped  from  the  borders  of  the  desert 
into  the  gardens  of  Damascus,  prepared  now  henceforth 
to  meet  persecution  at  every  step  of  his  eventful  life. 
Even  now  his  life  was  in  double  peril,  for  not  only  the 
Jews,  but  the  governor  of  the  city  tried  to  seize  him. 
The  king’s  garrison,7  as  well  as  those  furious  men  who 
were  unable  to  meet  him  in  argument  from  the  Scripture, 
c watched  the  gates  day  and  night  to  kill  him.’  In  the 
darkness  of  the  night,  at  an  unguarded  part  of  the 
city,  through  the  window  of  a house  built  in  the  outer- 
wall,  the  great  and  good  and  hated  Apostle,  like  the 
spies  from  Jericho,8  and  like  David  escaping  from  King 
Sful,9  was  forced  to  escape,  let  down  in  a basket.  At 
mid-night  perhaps,  instead  of  mid-day,  he  passed  the 
place  on  the  foad  to  Jerusalem,  where  the  light  flashed 
about  him  from  heaven.  What  thoughts  were  now  in 
his  mind,  as  he  journeyed  towards  the  holy  city : the 
temple ; the  sacrifices ; the  Messiah  really  come ; the  pro- 
phecies fulfilled ; his  own  wicked,  blind  persecution ; the 
change  in  himself ; Gamaliel  and  the  Rabbis  ; the  waters 
of  Galilee,  now  sacred  to  him  as  he  passed  them,  because 
J esus  had  been  there  ; the  yearning  of  his  soul  with  af- 
fection for  every  true  disciple,  as  he  trod  again  the  hills 
of  Samaria  ; the  thought  of  friends  in  Tarsus,  and  their 
mistaken  knowledge  of  Jesus,  as  he  caught  sight  of  the 
Mediterranean  from  the  hill-top — as  he  came  near  the 
walls  of  Jerusalem,  Calvary  and  the  crucifixion,  Stephen 
and  his  murder  and  his  vision  of  Jesus,  so  unlike  his 
own ; his  familiar  places  of  resort,  where  he  learned 
the  traditions  and  the  law,  and  disputed  in  the  syna- 

7 See  note  15,  on  page  26.  8 Joshua  ii.  15.  9 1.  Sam.  xix.  12. 


54 


{FIFTH  SUNDAY ) 


gogues.  How  gladly  he  would  bring  the  good  news  he 
had  learned  to  his  old  friends  and  fellow-students,  to  the 
teachers  and  to  Gamaliel ! Surely  some  of  them  will 
believe  on  Jesus.  How  eagerly  he  will  join  himself  to 
the  disciples  of  the  despised  Messiah  ! 

But  in  the  city  he  soon  found  that  44  as  the  Jews 
hated  him,  so  the  Christians  suspected  him.  They  could 
not  believe  he  wras  a disciple.”  The  long  distance  to  Da 
mascus,  the  uncertain  roads,  the  frequent  interruption 
and  robberies,  the  infrequent  return  of  Christians  to 
Jerusalem,  the  seat  of  persecution,  all  might  have  pre- 
vented the  disciples  from  getting  knowledge  of  his  con- 
version, or  might  have  led  them  to  distrust  such  a 
strange  conversion  till  it  had  been  tested.  4 Barnabas 
took  him  and  brought  him  to  the  apostles.’  Why  Bar- 
nabas ? Barnabas  was  from  Cyprus.10  Cyprus  was  not 
far  from  Tarsus.  Barnabas  may  have  been  at  school  at 
Tarsus.  He  and  Saul  may  have  been  acquainted  be- 
fore. There  is  an  ancient  tradition  that  they  studied 
together  in  the  school  of  Gamaliel.  If  not  acquainted, 
Barnabas  would  feel  especial  interest  in  a native  of  a 
city  wThich  was  within  a few  hours’  sail  of  his  early 
home,  and  in  which,  no  doubt,  he  had  often  been.  Bar- 
nabas was  a kind-hearted  and  generous  man,  too ; for 
he  had  sold  his  land,  and  had  brought  the  money  for 
the  disciples  to  use.11 

Barnabas  brought  Saul  to  Peter  and  James,  the  only 
two  apostles  whom  Saul  at  this  time  saw ; and  he  was 
with  them  only  fifteen  days.  How  many  things  were 
said  by  these  good  men,  in  these  few  days,  of  Jesus  and 
his  life  and  work,  and  of  their  work  ! 4And  now  boldly 
in  the  temple  he  disputed  with  the  Grecians,513  and  a3 

10  Acts  iv.  36.  11  iv.  37. 

M This  word  does  not  mean  native  Greeks,  but  foreign  Jews  who 
(spoJce  Greek. 


DAMASCUS,  ARABIA , AND  TARSUS . 


35 


his  Rabbinical  knowledge  served  him  in  Damascus,  so 
did  his  knowledge  of  Greek  probably  serve  him  here. 
But  as  he  did  to  Stephen,  so  did  they  to  him.  4 They 
went  about  to  kill  him.5  He  must  4 make  haste  to  get 
out  of  the  city.5  4 They  will  not  receive  thy  testimony 
concerning  me,5  were  the  words  of  his  Divine  Lord  to 
him,  in  a trance,  while  at  prayer  in  the  temple.  And 
although  Saul  seems  to  have  clung  fondly  to  his  desire 
to  try  to  convert  his  friends  and  acquaintances,  the  com- 
mand is  plain  and  emphatic  : 4 Depart,  for  I will  send 
thee  far  hence  to  the  Gentiles.5  So  the  brethren  brought 
him  down  to  Caesarea,  probably  where  he  first  landed 
years  ago,  and  sent  him  home  to  Tarsus.  Whether  the 
family  at  Tarsus  mourned  over  their  apostate  son,  and 
shut  him  out  of  their  home,  or  themselves  found  the 
Messiah  and  Saviour  in  the  Nazarene,  we  do  not  know. 
44  We  may  well  imagine  that  some  of  his  Christian  kins- 
men,13 whose  names  are  handed  down  to  us — possibly 
his  sister,  the  playmate  of  his  childhood,  and  his  sister’s 
son,14  who  afterwards  saved  his  life — were  gathered  at 
that  time  by  his  exertions  into  the  fold  of  Christ.55 
Doubtless,  too,  he  disputed  in  the  synagogues  of  Tar- 
sus, and  perhaps  in  the  public  schools  of  the  learned 
Greeks,  well  furnished  now  against  the  heathen  philo- 
sophers of  the  place.  He  would  now  win  them  to  the 
Messiah  of  Gentile  as  well  as  of  Jew.  No  doubt  he 
preached  in  other  towns  and  villages  of  Cilicia.  Cer- 
tainly there  were  churches  in  Cilicia  afterwards  ;15  and 
we  love  to  think  that  some  of  its  early  members  were 
converted  by  Saul’s  labors,  and  that,  although  the  breth- 
ren in  J udea  did  not  know  him  by  face,  they  were  thank- 
ful to  God  for  what  he  was  doing,  when  they  heard, 
4 That  he  which  persecuted  us  in  times  past,  now 
preaches  the  faith  he  once  destroyed.5 

13  Romans  xvi.  11,  21.  14  Acts  xxiii.  16.  16  xv.  23,  41. 


(FIFTH  SUNDAY.) 


QUESTIONS. 

\WHAT  was  to  be  Saul’s  great  work  now  ? 

’ * At  what  two  places  was  his  life-work  given  him  ? 

By  what  two  persons  ? 

What  shows  the  thoroughness  of  Saul’s  conversion  ? 
Should  people  expect  to  be  converted  by  strange  appear- 
ances now  ? 

How  long  was  Saul  in  Damascus  now  ? 

What  did  he  do  there  ? 

To  whom  did  he  preach  ? 

How  was  he  fitted  to  argue  with  them  ? 

In  what  thing  did  he  no  t speak  like  a Pharisee  ? 

What  were  the  two  subjects  of  his  preaching  ? 

What  did  the  people  who  heard  him  think  ? 

How  much  time  is  included  in  the  ‘ many  days  ’ that 
‘ were  fulfilled  ’ ? 

Were  the  Jews  of  Damascus  converted  when  they  heard  of 
Saul’s  conversion  ? 

What  one  of  two  effects  may  be  expected  in  one  who 
knows  his  friend  or  companion  is  converted  ? 
Where  did  Saul  go  from  Damascus  ? 

Why  not  go  to  Jerusalem  ? 

Did  he  need  instruction  in  order  to  become  an  Apostle  ? 
Into  what  part  of  Arabia  do  you  think  he  went  ? 

What  did  he  go  there  for  ? 

How  long  was  he  there  ? 

‘After  three  years  I went  up  to  Jerusalem three  years 
after  what  ? 

When  Saul  came  back  to  Damascus,  what  put  his  life  in 
double  peril  ? 

Who  was  King  over  Damascus  now  ? 

Was  it  the  King,  or  who  was  it  who  tried  to  arrest  Saul  ? 
How  did  he  escape  ? 

What  other  persons  in  Scripture  escaped  in  the  samo 
» manner  ? 


(9) 


{FIFTH  SUNDAY.) 


What  would  Saul  think  of  on  the  way  to  Jerusalem  ? 
For  what  especial  purpose  did  he  now  go  to  Jerusalem  ? 
How  did  the  disciples  at  Jerusalem  treat  him  at  first  ? 
Why  ? 

What  motive  might  they  think  Saul  had  ? 

Why  is  it  that  Barnabas  brings  him  to  the  disciples  ? 
What  kind  of  a man  was  Barnabas  ? 

What  reason  did  he  give  why  they  should  receive  Saul? 
How  many  of  the  Apostles  did  fie  see  ? 

How  long  was  he  in  Jerusalem? 

What  did  he  do  in  Jerusalem  ? 

Who  were  the  4 Grecians  ’ ? 

Did  he,  or  did  he  not,  wish  to  stay  ? Why  ? 

What  confession  does  Saul  make  at  this  time  ? 

Was  it  in  Jerusalem,  or  where  was  it,  that  his  life-work 
was  to  be  ? 

Where  did  he  now  go  ? 

How  would  his  own  family  think  of  him  ? 

Were  any  of  his  kinsmen  converted? 

What  would  he  do  in  Tarsus  ? 

Can  a person  be  a Christian  and  never  speak  of  it  ? 

Do  you  think  Saul  went  to  any  other  cities  of  Cilicia  ? 

How  do  you  know  there  were  churches  in  Cilicia  afterwards  ? 
Did  the  disciples  in  Judea  know  Saul  personally  at  that 
time  ? 

What  did  they  say  of  him  at  this  time  ? 

Did  Saul’s  conversion  do  good  where  he  had  never  been  ? 

Did  his  persecution  do  harm  where  he  had  never  been  ? 
Is  it  possible  for  a man  to  confine  his  Christian  or  un- 
christian influence  to  the  place  where  he  is  ? 

If  it  is  not  Christian,  what  must  it  be  ? 

(10) 


Sktfj  Smtimg. 


BARNABAS  GOES  FOR  SAUL. 


LESSON. 

Acts  ix.  80-35 ; xi.  19-30 ; xii.  24,  25. 

AND  now,  while  Saul  is  at  Tarsus,  and  the  Church 
from  Judea  to  Galilee  had  rest,  believers  are  multi- 
plied. Peter  preaches  at  Lydda,  and  heals  a palsied 
man  ; at  Joppa,  and  raises  Dorcas  to  life  ; at  Caesarea, 
and  Cornelius  and  his  kinsmen  and  friends  believe. 
Others,  scattered  by  the  persecution  of  Stephen,  little 
thinking  that  the  c young  man  Saul 5 was  now  too  a be- 
liever, travelled  to  Phenice,  (Phenicia,)  and  to  Cyprus 
and  to  Antioch.  Some  of  these  men  from  Cyprus  and 
from  Cyrene,1  who  could  therefore  speak  Greek,  and 
who  knew  the  manners  and  the  character  of  the  Greeks 
better  than  the  others,  preached  to  the  Greeks2  at  An- 
tioch ; and  a great  number  of  the  Greeks  believed.  The 
story  now  gathers  around  the  two  places,  Caesarea  and 
Antioch,  in  which  the  Gospel  is  preached  to  the  Gen- 
tiles, and  where  are  now  gathered  into  the  Church  rep- 
resentatives of  the  two  great  nations  of  Greece  and 
Rome. 

And  now,  no  doubt  Saul,  under  the  direction  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  was  waiting  for  the  door  to  the  Gentiles 
to  be  fully  opened  before  he  should  enter  directly  on  his 

1 Cyrene  is  directly  south  of  Greece,  in  Africa,  six  hundred  miles 
farther  west  than  the  map  extends.  See  Map  in  frontispiece. 

2 Possibly  these  may  have  been  Greek-speaking  Jews,  but  more 
likely  Greens. 


BARNABAS  GOES  FOR  SAUL. 


37 


great  life-work.  Here  he  had  been  two  or  three  years, 
and  was  now  ready  for  farther  direction,  when  he  was 
sent  for  by  his  Christian  brethren.  It  is  Barnabas  who 
comes  to  introduce  him  to  his  work.  It  was  natu- 


38 


{SIXTH  SUNDAY.) 


ral,  when  the  disciples  of  Jerusalem  heard  what  was 
being  done  in  Antioch,  that  they  should  send  down 
Barnabas  to  Antioch,  for  with  that  city  he  wras  no 
doubt  as  familiar  as  with  Tarsus,  from  his  early  home  in 
Cyprus.  And  now  that  the  Greeks  and  Romans,  at 
Antioch  and  at  Caesarea,  are  receiving  the  Gospel ; now 
that,  after  Peter  had  told  his  story  of  the  conversion  of 
the  Roman  centurion  Cornelius,  the  Apostles  at  Jeru- 
salem had  boldly  said,  in  opposition  to  all  the  Jewish 
prejudice,  c Then  hath  God  given  repentance  unto  life 
to  the  Gentiles  also ; 5 now  that  the  Apostles  had  sent 
him  down  to  Antioch ; now  that  he  saw  the  Spirit  of 
God  was  working  mightily  in  Antioch ; and  now  that 
he  knew  Saul  was  to  be  the  Apostle  to  the  Gentiles, 
‘ full  of  the  Holy  Ghost  and  of  faith,’  Barnabas  set  off 
to  Tarsus  to  seek  Saul.  To  Antioch  Saul  returns,  and 
here  with  Barnabas  labors  a whole  year. 

Let  usPthink  now  what  kind  of  a place  this  is  in  which 
these  two  eminent  Christian  teachers  pass  a year  of 
their  lives,  and  with  such  success  that  the  disciples  first 
receive  the  name  of  c Cheistia^s.’ 

Antioch  was  one  of  the  ancient  cities  of  the  Syrian 
coast.  From  the  river  Orontes,  and  from  the  harbor 
of  the  city  on  the  sea,  its  ships  sailed  to  all  parts  of  the 
Mediterranean,  while  along  the  valley  of  the  Orontes  to 
the  south-east,  it  communicated  with  the  great  caravan- 
trade  of  Damascus  and  the  East,  of  Jerusalem  and  the 
South.  From  this  time,  and  two  centuries  onward,  it 
was  the  great  sea-port  of  the  whole  rich  inland  territo- 
ry, even  of  Mesopotamia  and  parts  of  Arabia.  It  was 
the  third  city  of  the  Roman  Empire,  ranking  next  after 
Rome  and  Alexandria.  It  was  adorned  by  the  emper- 
ors as  the  capital  of  the  Syrian  provinces.  A long,  level 
and  broa  l street,  four  miles  in  length,  passed  through 
the  city.  On  each  side  of  it  were  colonnades,  so  that  the 


BARNABAS  GOES  FOR  SAUL . 


39 


throngs  of  people  could  walk  under  the  covered  ways 
of  the  beautiful  avenue  from  one  end  of  the  city  to  the 
other.  A palace  for  the  Syrian  king  or  Roman  govern- 
or, an  ornamental  arch,  a temple  of  J upiter  on  one  sum- 
mit of  the  neighboring  mountain,  and  a citadel  on  another, 
were  the  other  chief  attractions.  The  whole  was  sur- 
rounded by  a wall.  “ Luxurious  Romans  were  attracted 
by  its  beautiful  climate.  New  wants  continually  mul- 
tiplied the  business  of  its  commerce.  Its  gardens  and 
houses  grew  and  extended  on  the  north  side  of  the 
river.  Many  are  the  allusions  to  the  history  of  Antioch 
in  the  history  of  those  times,  as  a place  of  singular 
pleasure  and  enjoyment.  Here  and  there,  an  elevating 
thought  is  associated  with  the  name.  Poets  have  spent 
their  young  days  at  Antioch,  great  generals  have  died 
here,  emperors  have  visited  and  admired  it.  But  for 
the  most  part,  its  population  was  a worthless  rabble  cf 
Greeks  and  Orientals.  The  frivolous  amusements  of 
the  theatre  were  the  occupation  of  their  life.  They  had 
a passion  for  races  and  for  party  quarrels.  The  Oriental 
superstition  and  imposture  was  in  full  life  here.  The 
Chaldean  astrologers  found  their  most  credulous  disci- 
ples in  Antioch.  Jewish  impostors,  sufficiently  common 
throughout  the  East,  found  their  best  opportunities 
here.  It  is  probable  that  no  populations  have  ever  been 
more  abandoned  than  those  of  Oriental  Greek  cities  un- 
der the  Roman  Empire  ; and  of  these  cities,  Antioch  was 
the  greatest  and  the  worst.”  The  Olympic  games  were 
celebrated  at  Daphne,  a beautiful,  most  vicious  village, 
five  miles  from  the  city ; and  thither,  to  see  the  games, 
and  to  worship  Apollo,  in  the  magnificent  temple, 
thousands  of  pilgrims  went  every  year. 

It  was  in  such  a rich,  prosperous,  thronged,  and 
wicked  city,  that  the  Spirit  of  God  was  now  manifest. 
Romans,  Greeks,  and  Jews,  would  all  oppose  the  sim 


40 


(SIXTH  SUNDAY.) 


pie,  humiliating,  and  purifying  doctrines  of  Jesus.  Yet 
many  were  believing.  Barnabas  would  need  aid.  To 
this  place,  therefore,  he  brought  Saul  to  assist  in  the 
good  work.  We  cannot  tell  all  which  they  accom- 
plished during  the  year.  No  doubt  they  preached  in 
the  public  places  ; no  doubt  they  tried  to  lead  the  pil- 
grims of  a false  faith  to  the  true  God  and  to  the  Mes- 
siah ; and  perhaps  they  preached  the  Gosj^el  in  the  very 
village  of  Daphne,  endeavoring  to  turn  the  worshippers 
4 from  these  vanities  to  serve  the  living  God.’  They 
had,  however,  attracted  the  attention  of  the  people  so 
much  that  they  gave  them  a new  name.  The  people 
saw,  strangely  enough,  J ews  and  Gentiles  were  united  in 
this  new  sect.  They  heard  them  speak  much  of  4 the 
Christ,’  of  him  who  had  been  crucified  at  Jerusalem, 
who,  they  claimed,  had  risen  from  the  dead  and  was 
‘the  Messiah’  whom  the  Jews  had  been  expecting  to 
appear,  or  4 the  Christ,’  in  the  Greek  language ; the 
preachers  preached  the  doctrine  that  this  4 Christ  ’ was 
God  ; whenever  any  one  prayed,  he  prayed  in  the  name 
of  4 Christ ; ’ whatever  they  all  did,  they  pretended  to 
do  for  the  sake  of 4 Christ ; ’ and  therefore  the  Antioch- 
ians  called  preachers  and  pray-ers  together,  in  ridicule 
or  in  contempt,  4 Christ-ians.’ 

The  Jews  called  the  disciples  4 Nazarenes,’  or  4 Gali- 
leans,’ and  they  would  not  call  those  who  believed  in  a 
false  Christ,  4 Christians.’  The  disciples  called  them- 
selves 4 brethren  ’ and  disciples ; and  they  would  not 
probably  take  upon  themselves  a name  which  meant 
simply  4 believers  in  the  Messiah,’  for  all  the  J ews  be- 
lieved in  a Messiah.  The  idle  and  witty  people  of  An- 
tioch, who  4 were  famous  for  their  invention  of  nick- 
names,’ were  quick  to  see  that  these  men  were  dif- 
ferent from  other  Jews  and  from  other  Gentiles,  and 
that  they  had  in  a year  organized  a church  of  their 


BARNABAS  GOBS  NOR  SAUL. 


41 


own.  It  was  no  doubt  the  witty  Greeks  and  Romans 
and  Syrians,  who  fastened  on  the  disciples  the  contemp- 
tuous name  of  ‘ Christians.’ 

There  had  been,  within  a few  years,  earthquakes  and 
famines  in  various  parts  of  the  Roman  Empire  ; and 
Judea  had  not  escaped.  “ The  reign  of  Claudius  Caesar, 
. from  bad  harvests  and  other  causes,  was  a period  of 
general  distress  and  scarcity  ‘ over  the  whole  world.’ 
In  the  fourth  year  of  his  reign,  we  are  told  by  Josephus 
that  the  famine  was  so  severe  that  the  price  of  food  be- 
came enormous,  and  great  numbers  perished.”  One 
noble  woman,  the  mother  of  an  eastern  king  in  the 
neighborhood  of  ancient  Nineveh,  who  had  come  to  Je- 
rusalem to  worship,  was  so  touched  with  pity  at  the 
misery  she  saw  among  the  poor,  that  she  sent  to  Alex- 
andria to  buy  corn,  and  to  Cyprus  to  buy  figs  for  them ; 
and  her  son,  the  king  himself,  sent  large  sums  of  money 
to  Jerusalem.  It  may  have  been  this  same  famine,  or 
‘great  dearth,’  which  Agabus  the  prophet  foretold. 
The  Christian  converts  were  m>t  slow  to  show  their 
love  for  their  brethren,  and  their  gratitude  for  the  new 
religion  which  they  had  been  taught.  ‘According  to 
their  ability,’  they  sent  relief  to  the  brethren  in  Judea, 
appointing  Barnabas  and  Saul  to  carry  their  contribu- 
tion to  the  elders  in  Jerusalem. 

When  Barnabas  and  Saul  reached  Jerusalem,  they 
probably  found  what  was  worse  than  famine.  James, 
the  brother  of  John,  had  been  murdered  by  Herod. 
Peter  was  in  prison,  and  Avas  soon  to  be  executed.  By 
a miracle  Peter  was  delivered,  and  by  a miracle  Herod, 
the  murderer,  the  proud,  selfish  man,  displaying  him- 
self in  magnificent  robes  which  shone  with  silver,  to  the 
great  multitude  in  the  royal  theatre  of  Caesarea,  was 
smitten  with  death.  In  the  very  city  in  which  Corne- 
lius had  been  so  lately  converted,  and  which  probably 


* 42 


{SIXTH  SUNDAY.) 


Saul  now  passed  through  on  his  return  from  Jerusalem 
to  Antioch,  the  impious  King,  wrapped  in  his  royal  ap- 
parel, but  eaten  with  horrible  disease,  was  carried  out 
of  the  theatre  built  by  his  grandfather  (who  murdered 
the  innocents  of  Bethlehem)  to  die.  Barnabas  and  Saul 
had  fulfilled  their  mission.  They  had  relieved  the  breth- 
ren of  Judea  ; and  with  John  Mark,  (nephew  or  cousin 
to  Barnabas,3)  they  were  on  their  way  back  to  Antioch, 
still  to  labor  there  for  their  common  Lord. 

3 Colossians  iv.  10.  The  word  translated  ‘ sister's  son  * may  mean 
cousin  ae  well  as  nephew . m 


(SIXTH  SUNDAY.) 


QUESTIONS. 


\I7HILE  Saul  was  at  Tarsus,  what  had  occurred  in  Palestine  ? 
’ * Where  had  Peter  been,  and  what  had  he  done  ? 

Where  had  other  disciples  been  ? 

Where  were  these  places  ? 

To  whom  had  they  preached  in  Antioch  ? 

Why  was  it  that  the  men  of  Cyprus  and  Cyrene  preach- 
ed to  1 the  Grecians 7 ? 

What  was  the  result  of  their  preaching  ? 

About  what  two  places  do  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  now 
gather  ? 

What  two  great  nations  are  now  represented  in  the  new 
converts  ? 

What  may  we  suppose  Saul  was  waiting  for  in  Tarsus  ? 

How  long  had  he  been  in  Tarsus  ? 

What  did  the  disciples  in  J erusalem  hear  about  An- 
tioch ? 

Why  do  they  send  Barnabas  to  Antioch  ? 

Will  a Christian  do  anything  more  than  1 be  glad,7  when 
he  sees  ‘ the  work  of  God 7 ? 

What  two  things  must  a man  be  ‘ full  of,7  to  be  in  the 
highest  sense  ‘ a good  man  7 ? 

Can  a man  be  good  at  all,  without  these  things  ? 

What  was  the  result  of  Barnabas’s  coming  ? 

What  is  meant  by  4 added 7 f 
Why  was  it  that  Barnabas  went  for  Saul  f 
What  did  Barnabas  want  Saul  for  ? 

How  long  were  they  in  Antioch  -? 

What  country  was  Antioch  capital  of  ? 

In  what  direction  and  by  what  means  did  it  have  trade  ? 
Which  were  the  first  three  cities  of  the  Roman  empire  ? 
How  was  the  city  adorned  ? and  by  whom  ? 

Who  came  to  Antioch  ? and  why  ? 

Poets?  generals?  emperors? 

What  land  of  population  was  that  of  Antioch  ? 

(ii) 


SIXTH  SUNDAY. 


How  did  Antioch  compare  with  other  Oriental  Greek 
cities  ? 

What  famous  village  near  Antioch  ? 

What  celebration  was  held  there  ? 

Who  would  oppose  the  Gospel  in  Antioch  ? 

How  do  you  know  the  Apostles  attracted  attention  in  An- 
tioch ? 

Why  do  you  think  they  were  called  Christians  ? 

Why  would  not  the  disciples  or  the  Jews  give  the  name  ? 
Must  a person  be  willing  to  be  singular  to  be  a Christ- 
ian ? 

Who  came  down  from  J erusalem  1 in  these  days  ’ ? 

What  did  one  of  them  do  ? 

Is  this  man  mentioned  elsewhere  in  the  Scriptures  ? 
What  had  happened  in  parts  of  the  Boman  empire  ? 
What  is  said  of  the  reign  of  Claudius  Cassar  ? 

What  is  meant  by  1 throughout  all  the  world  ’ ? 

Did  any  besides  the  disciples  send  1 relief’  to  Jerusalem  ? 
Who  went  from  Antioch  to  Jerusalem  ? 

Does  piety  make  men  more  or  less  generous  ? why  ? 
What  had  happened  when  Barnabas  and  Saul  reached  Jeru- 
salem ? 

What  became  of  both  King  and  prisoner  ? 

Who  built  the  theatre  in  which  the  King  was  smitten  ? 
Had  Saul  ever  been  in  Caesarea  ? 

Would  you  rather  belong  to  such  a set  of  Kings  or  such 
a set  of  Apostles  ? 

Must  you  belong  to  one  class  or  the  other  ? 

What  effect  did  Herod’s  persecution  have  on  the  preach- 
ing of  the  word  ? 

What  is  meant  by  4 fulfilling  their  ministry  ’ ? 

What  especial  reason  is  there  why  John  Mark  went  back 
with  Barnabas  and  Saul  ? 


(12) 


THE  BEGINNING  OF  THE  JOURNEY& 


LESSON. 

Acts  xiii.  1-5. 

'THE  4 church’  of  Antioch  was  an  assembly  of  Christ* 
J-  ians,  which  probably  met  at  the  different  houses  of 
the  Christians  for  prayer,  for  study  of  the  Scriptures, 
for  worship  and  for  the  celebration  of  the  Lord’s 
Supper.  And  now  there  were  among  them,  at  the 
close  of  the  year,  or  rather  at  the  return  of  Barnabas 
and  Saul  from  Jerusalem,  4 certain  prophets  and  teach- 
ers.’ These  were  not  proj)hets  like  those  of  the  Old 
Testament.  In  those  days  a 4 prophet  ’ need  not  have 
any  knowledge  of  things  to  come,  or  speak  of  what 
would  happen  in  the  future.  He  was  more  than  a sim- 
ple teacher,  and  less  than  an  apostle.1  He  was  a teacher, 
it  is  supposed,  who  at  times,  if  not  always,  taught  by 
the  unusual  power  of  a direct  inspiration.  Three  of 
these  prophets  and  teachers  are  mentioned,  besides  Bar- 
nabas and  Saul.  Who  are  these  three  ? Simeon  Niger, 
Lucius  of  Cyrene,  Manaen,  Herod’s  foster-brother.2  We 
have  only  one  item  of  information  in  respect  to  each  of 
the  three.  Simeon  is  a Hebrew  name,  and  Niger  is  a 
Homan  name ; so  that  probably  Simeon  Niger  was  a 
Jew  who,  like  Saul,  had  lived  among  the  Romans  when 
he  was  young,  or  had  afterwards  gained  the  Roman 
name  from  some  acquaintance  or  connection  with  them. 

3 I.  Corinth,  xii.  28. 

u See  the  margin  in  the  reference  Bible. 


44 


{SEVENTH  SUNDAY.) 


The  Latin  word  cniger’  means  c black,  dark,  dusky,’ 
and  it  is  easy  to  think  the  name  might  have  been  given 
at  first  contemptuously,  on  account  of  his  complexion, 
and  retained  here  to  distinguish  him  from  the  other 
Simeons  and  Simons  mentioned  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment.3 As  the  word  means  also  c sad,  mournful,’  and 
then  ; ill-omened,  unlucky,’  and  then  still  c bad,  wicked,’ 
the  name  might  have  been  given  for  his  natural  appear- 
ance, or  far  his  ill-fortune  in  life,  or  he  may  have  been 
noted  for  his  wickedness  before  his  conversion.  It  has 
been  supposed  that  Lucius  is  the  same  person  as  Luke, 
the  writer  of  the  Book  of  Acts,  who  went  with  the 
Apostle  from  Troas  on  his  journeys  ;4  but  it  is  not  pro- 
bable that  Luke  would  have  mentioned  himself  as  one 
of  the  most  honored  teachers  of  the  church  ; “ and  be- 
sides, the  Latin  form  of  the  name,  Lucas,  does  not  come 
from  Lucius,  but  from  Lucanus.”  Lucius  is  from  Cy- 
rene,  “ that  African  city  which  abounded  in  Jews,  and 
which  sent  to  Jerusalem  our  Saviour’s  cross-bearer.”6 
When  Paul  wrote  afterwards  from  Corinth  his  letter  to 
the  Romans,6  there  was  a Lucius  with  him,  perhaps 
this  same  one.  Who  was  Manaen  ? Herod  the  Te- 
trarch7  was  Herod  Antipas,  Tetrarch  of  Galilee,  whose 

3 They  are  the  same  name : Simeon,  the  Hebrew  form ; Simon, 
the  Greek  form ; gnd  there  are  eleven  in  all,  besides  Simeon  Niger. 
Simon  Peter,  Simon  the  zealot  or  Canaanite,  (Matt.  x.  2,  4 ; Luke 
yi>  15,)  Simon  the  Pharisee,  (Luke  vii.  40,)  Simon  the  leper,  (Matt 
xxvi.  6,)  Simon  the  Cyrenean,  (Mark  xv.  21,)  Simon  the  sorcerer, 
(Acts  viii.  9,)  Simon  the  tanner,  (Acts  ix.  43,)  Simon  the  brother  of 
Jesus,  (Matt.  xiii.  55,)  Simon  the  father  of  Judas  Iscariot,  (John  vi. 
71,)  Simeon  of  the  Temple,  (Luke  ii.  25,)  and  Simeon,  Jesus’  ances- 
tor, (Luke  iii.  30.) 

4 4 We,’  he  says,  Acts  xvi.  10.  5 Mark  xv.  21.  6 Romans  xvi.  21. 

7 Teirarcli  is  a Greek  word,  from  tetros , a fourth,  and  archon , 

ruler,  and  at  the  first  meant  the  ruler  of  a fourth  part  of  a country. 
It  afterwards  meant  a ruler  of  any  part,  the  same  as  ethnarch , {ethnos, 
country,  and  archon , ruler.) 


THE  BEGINNING  OF  TIIE  JOURNEYS . 45 

brother,  Herod  Archelaus,  was  Tetrarch  of  Judea,  and 
whose  brother  Herod  Philip,  was  Tetrarch  of  part  of 
the  rough  region  between  Lake  Tiberias  and  Damas- 
cus. All  three  were  sons  of  Herod  the  Great,  the  mur- 
derer of  the  innocents  at  Bethlehem.  The  two  former 
sons  were  educated  together  at  Rome,  and  in  childhood 
were  no  doubt  ‘ brought  up’  together;  and  so  the 
Christian  teacher  Manaen,  their  foster-brother,  “ spent 
his  early  childhood  with  these  two  princes,”  and  had  no 
doubt  some  personal  acquaintance  with  Herod  the 
Great.  While  Manaen  was  teacher  of  the  Christian 
church  at  Antioch,  these  two  cruel  sons  were  both  ex- 
iles in  Gaul,  by  the  decree  of  the  Roman  Emperor ; the 
very  one  here  mentioned,  (Antipas,)  on  the  accusation 
of  his  own  nephew,  that  other  miserable  Herod  who 
was  smitten  by  a death-angel  at  Caesarea.  How  much 
more  honorable  is  the  single  mention  of  Manaen’s 
name  here  in  the  Scriptures,  though  so  little  is  known 
of  him,  than  all  the  glory  of  the  Herodian  line ! 

“ The  Christian  community  at  Antioch  were  engaged 
in  one  united  act  of  prayer  and  humiliation.  That  this 
solemnity  would  be  accompanied  by  words  of  exhorta- 
tion, and  that  it  would  be  crowned  and  completed  by 
the  holy  communion,  is  more  than  probable ; that  it  was 
accompanied  with  fasting,  we  are  expressly  told.  These 
religious  services  might  have  had  a special  reference  to 
the  means  which  were  to  be  adopted  for  the  spread  of 
the  Gospel,  which  was  now  to  be  given  to  all  men ; 
and  the  words,  ‘Separate  me  Barnabas  and  Saul  for  the 
work  whereunto  I have  called  them,’  may  have  been  an 
answer  to  their  specific  prayers.”  How  the  hearts  of 
all  must  have  been  filled  with  sacred  wonder  and  awe 
at  this  change  from  the  old  Jewish  custom,  this  sending 
out  of  preachers  among  the  Gentiles,  far  away,  to  teach 
them  also  the  words  of  the  Messiah  already  come,  and 


46 


{SEVENTH  SUNDAY.) 


with  a deep  sense  of  the  work  they  were  beginning. 
And  so  they  came  together  again  at  the  time  of  depart- 
ure no  doubt,  to  fast  and  to  pray,  and  to  consecrate 
these  two  brethren  to  their  great  and  holy  work.  “A 
fast  is  appointed  ; prayers  are  offered  up  ; the  two  are 
ordained  by  that  most  simple  act  of  the  t laying  on  of 
hands.’  ”8 

Why  now  did  the  Apostles  go  to  Cyprus  first?  No 
doubt  they  were  divinely  guided,  but  still  guided 
through  human  motives.  Four  reasons  may  be  given, 
which  may  have  induced  them  to  go  there.  First.  Cy- 
prus is  not  far  distant  from  the  mainland  of  Syria  ; its 
high  mountains  are  easily  seen,  in  clear  weather,  from 
the  coast  near  the  mouth  of  the  Orontes,  and  in  the 
summer  season  there  must  have  been  many  vessels  pass- 
ing and  repassing  between  Salamis  and  Seleucia.  Se- 
condly. “It  was  the  native  place  of  Barnabas.  It 
would  be  natural  to  suppose  that  the  truth  would  bo 
welcomed  in  Cyprus,  when  it  was  brought  by  Barna- 
bas and  his  kinsman,9  Mark,  to  their  own  connection  or 
friends.”  Thirdly.  There  were  many  Jews  in  Salamis. 
“ By  sailing  to  that  city,  they  were  following  the  track 
of  the  synagogues.  Their  mission,  it  is  true,  was  chiefly 
to  the  Gentiles,  but  their  surest  way  of  reaching  them 
was  through  the  Jewish  proselytes  and  the  Jews  who 
spoke  Greek.”  Fourthly.  “ Some  of  the  inhabitants 
of  Cyprus  were  already  Christians.  There  was  no 
place  out  of  Palestine,  except  Antioch,  where  the  Gos- 
pel had  been  better  received.”10  John  Mark  is  with 
his  uncle  and  Saul,  as  an  assistant  or  attendant.11 

8 Acts  vi.  6 ; I.  Tim.  iv.  14  ; v.  22  ; II.  Tim.  i.  6 ; Heb.  vi.  2. 

9 Coloss.  iv.  10. 

10  Acts  xi.  19,  20  ; xxi.  16  ; iv.  36. 

11  ‘And  they  had  also  John  as  attendant  or  assistant.*  Th« 


THE  BEGINNING  OF  THE  JOURNEYS.  47 


Seleucia  was  the  port  and  harbor  of  Antioch.  It 
was  not  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  Orontes,  but  six  or 
eight  miles  above  it.  Here  the  disciples  must  come  to 
take  ship  on  the  great  sea.  “If  Barnabas  and  Saul 
came  down  by  water  from  Antioch,  they  sailed  on  the 
deep  and  rapid,  but  not  clear  river,  winding  around  the 
bases  of  high  cliffs  or  by  richly  cultivated  banks,  where 
the  vine  and  the  fig-tree,  the  myrtle  and  the  bay,  are 
mingled  with  dwarf-oak  and  sycamore,”  and  then  turn- 
ing short  to  the  right,  they  crept  along  the  coast  into 
the  harbor,  protected  by  lofty  hills.  If,  instead  of  tak- 
ing this  winding  course  of  forty  miles,  they  took  the 
road  for  sixteen  miles  straight  across,  “ they  crossed 
the  river  on  the  north  side  of  Antioch,  and  came  along 
the  base  of  the  Pierian  hills  by  a route  which  is  now 
roughly  covered  with  fragrant  and  picturesque  shrubs, 
but  which  then  doubtless  was  a track  well  worn  by 
travellers.”  Here,  in  a sea-port,  which  was  at  the  same 

Greek  word  means  literally  an  under-rower , a common  sailor,  who 
worked  at  the  oar  under  the  regular  shipmen  or  seamen . And  so  it 
came  to  mean  an  attendant  in  the  synagogue,  who  handed  the  volume 
or  the  rolls  to  the  reader,  and  returned  them  to  their  place.  Hejce, 
any  attendant  or  associate-assistant. 


48 


{SEVENTH  SUNDAY.) 


time  a fortress  and  a harbor,  from  the  piers  whose 
“ large  stones,  fastened  by  their  iron  cramps,  protected 
the  vessels  in  the  harbor  from  the  swell  of  the  western 
sea,  with  high  and  craggy  summits  on  the  north-east 
looking  down  upon  them,”  in  the  midst  of  unsympa- 
thizing sailors,  the  two  missionaries,  with  their  younger 
companion,  stepped  on  board  the  vessel  which  was  to 
take  them  from  the  sacred  shores  of  Palestine,  as  they 
bore  their  blessed  message  to  the  whole  wide  world  of 
heathen.  “As  they  cleared  the  port,  the  whole  sweep 
of  the  bay  of  Antioch  opened  on  their  left ; the  low 
ground  by  the  mouth  of  the  Orontes ; the  wild  and 
woody  country  beyond  it ; and  then  the  peak  of  Mount 
Casius,  rising  symmetrically  from  the  very  edge  of  the 
sea  to  a height  of  five  thousand  feet.  On  the  right,  in 
„ the  south-west  horizon,  if  the  day  was  clear,  they  saw 
the  island  of  Cyprus  from  the  first.  With  a fair  wind, 
they  would  run  down  from  Seleucia  to  Salamis  in  a few 
hours ; and  the  land  would  rapidly  rise  in  forms  well 
known  and  familiar  to  Barnabas.”  Pointing  the  ship 
to  the  very  centre  of  the  east  end  of  the  island,  and 
leaving  behind  and  far  away  on  either  side  the  two 
promontories  and  their  mountain-headlands,  the  captain 
would  steer  direct  for  Salamis.  “ The  ground  lies  low 
in  the  neighborhood  of  the  city,  and  this  low  land  is  the 
largest  plain  in  Cyprus.  It  stretches  inwards  between 
the  two  mountain-ranges  to  the  very  heart  of  the 
country.  A large  city  on  the  sea-shore,  a wide-spread 
plain  with  fields  of  grain  and  orchards,  and  the  blue 
mountains  beyond,  composed  the  view  on  which  the 
eyes  of  Barnabas  and  Saul  and  Mark  rested  when  they 
came  to  anchor  in  the  bay  of  Salamis.” 

Here  we  find  many  Jews,  “ for  we  learn  that  this 
city  had  several  synagogues,  while  other  cities  had  only 


THE  BEGINNING  OF  THE  JOURNEYS. 


49 


one.”12  The  unparalleled  productiveness  of  Cyprus, 
and  its  trade  in  fruit,  wine,  flax,  and  hone/,  would  nat- 
urally attract  them  to  the  commercial  port.  When 
Herod  wrought  the  copper-mines  for  the  Emperor  Au- 
gustus Caesar,  many  Jews  at  that  time  came  to  Cyprus. 
Barnabas  and  Saul  preached  here  in  the  synagogues. 
“ We  do  not  know  how  long  they  staid,  or  what  was 
their  success.  Some  stress  seems  to  be  laid  on  the  fact 
that  John  Mark  was  their  minister.  Perhaps  we  are 
to  infer  from  this  that  his  hands  baptized  the  Jews  and 
proselytes,  who  were  convinced  by  the  preaching  of 
the  Apostles.”13 

12  Compare  verses  14,  15 ; see  ix.  20,  and  contrast  xvii.  1 and 
xviii.  4. 

13  See  I.  Coiinth.  i.  14,  16,  17. 


{SEVENTH  SUNDAY.) 


QUESTIONS. 

WHAT  was  the  church  of  Antioch  ? 

1 T What  do  you  mean  by  4 a church  ’ now  ? 

Where  did  they  meet  for  worship  ? 

Who  were  in  the  church  at  the  end  of  the  year  ? 

How  did  these  4 prophets  ’ differ  from  those  of  the  Old 
Testament  ? 

What  was  the  difference  between  4 prophet  ’ and 
4 teacher  ’ ? 

What  was  the  difference  between  4 prophet  ’ and 
4 apostle’  ? 

Where  in  the  Scriptures  do  you  find  this  difference  ? 
How  many  of  these  prophets  and  teachers  are  men- 
tioned ? 

Whose  names  are  the  first  and  the  last  ? 

Was  Barnabas  an  Apostle  ? 

What  is  the  meaning  of  Apostle  ? 

Of  what  nation  was  Simeon  Niger  ? 

Why  called  Niger  ? 

How  many  other  Simeons  are  there  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment ? 

Is  Lucius  the  same  as  Luke  ? 

Where  is  Cyrene,  and  who  else  was  from  there  ? 

Is  Lucius  mentioned  anywhere  else  in  the  Scriptures  ? 
Who  was  Manaen  ? 

Whose  son  was  Herod  the  Tetrarch  ? 

What  does  Tetrarch  mean  ? 

What  notorious  thing  did  his  father  do  ? 

What  notorious  thing  did  this  Herod  the  Tetrarch  do  ? 
What  became  of  him  and  his  brother  ? 

How  was  Manaen  connected  with  them  ? 

Whom  do  you  most  honor,  Herod  or  Manaen  ? Why  ? 
What  other  disciple  from  Jerusalem  was  in  Antioch  ? 

In  the  meetings  of  the  church  at  Antioch,  what  would  be  one 
subject  they  would  all  think  of  ? 

(18) 


* {SEVENTH  SUNDAY.) 


Do  you  suppose  they  thought  themselves  of  sending  men 
abroad  to  preach  ? 

What  was  the  Jewish  custom  ? 

What  command  did  they  receive  ? 

Who  is  the  source  of  authority  ? 

What  is  meant  by  4 laid  hands  on  them  ’ ? 

Do  you  think  it  was  at  the  same  service  in  which  they 
received  the  command,  or  at  another,  that  they 
4 laid  hands  on  them  ’ ? 

How  many  missionary  journeys  did  Saul  make? 

Did  his  brethren  send  him,  or  who  ? 

Where  did  he  first  go  ? 

Do  you  suppose  the  place  to  which  they  were  to  go  was 
revealed  ? 

What  four  reasons  may  be  given  why  he  went  to  Cyprus 
first  ? 

What  does  the  Greek  word  here  translated  4 minister  ’ 
mean? 

Where  and  what  was  Seleucia  ? 

How  would  the  three  go  from  Antioch  to  Seleucia  ? 

Where  was  Salamis  ? 

How  long  would  it  take  to  go  to  Salamis  ? 

Was  there  more  than  one  synagogue  in  Salamis  ? 

What  does  this  show  ? 

What  would  bring  the  Jews  there  ? 

What  did  John  Mark  do  ? 

Is  there  any  way  for  us  to  preach  the  Gospel  besides 
preaching  from  the  pulpit  ? 

Who  are  the  best 4 under-rowers  ’ to  pastors  now  ? 

(14) 


S'ttnbajr. 


THE  PRO-CONSUL  AT  PAPHOS. 


LESSON. 

Acts  xiii.  6-12. 

BETWEEN  Salamis,  the  commercial  port  at  the  east 
end  of  Cyprus,  and  Paphos  at  the  west  end,  there 
must  have  been  a well-travelled  and  frequented  road. 
The  missionaries  must  have  had  several  halting-places 
in  a journey  of  a hundred  miles.  As  the  history  of  the 
Acts  gives  us  only  the  important  events  of  the  journeys, 
there  is  nothing  to  forbid  us  thinking  that  they  preached 
at  settlements  along  the  way.  They  travelled,  no  doubt, 
the  shortest  way  from  one  principal  city  {jp  another, 
between  the  range  of  mountains  and  the  sea. 

Paphos  was  the  capital  of  the  island.  The  Roman 
Governor  lived  here.  The  people  were  mostly  Greeks, 
and  there  was  a garrison  of  Roman  troops  to  hold  and 
defend  the  place.  While  the  languages  of  the  two 
nations  equally  mingled,  the  Greek  religion  prevailed 
over  the  Roman,  for  Paphos  had  been  for  ages  a place 
famous  for  its  mythological  history.  The  temple  of 
Paphos,  it  was  said,  “was  built  on  the  spot  where 
Yenus  was  gently  wafted  to  the  shore  from  her  native 
waves  ” Homer  sung  of  Paphos:  Virgil,  of  the  temple 
of  Yenus  there,  “where  a hundred  altars  burn  with 
Arabian  frankincense:”  Horace,  of  the  “queen  of 
Cnidus  and  of  Paphos.”  A few  years  after  Saul’s  visit, 
“ curiosity  led  Titus  ” (afterward  Emperor  of  Rome, 
and  then  on  his  way  to  conquer  Judea  and  to  destroy 


THE  PRO-CONSUL  AT  PAPHOS . 


51 


Jerusalem)  “ to  visit  the  temple  of  Venus,  famous  for 
the  worship  of  the  inhabitants  and  the  concourse  of 
strangers  who  resorted  hither  from  -all  parts.” 

Who  now  was  ‘the  Deputy 5 ? To  answer  this  ques- 
tion, we  must  know  what  the  government  of  the  Roman 
Empire  was  over  Cyprus,  and  what  office  Sergius  Paulus 
held  under  the  government.  Some  years  after  the  Em- 
pire was  established  on  the  ruins  of  the  Republic,  the 
Consul  at  Rome,  who  had  been  President  of  the  Roman 
Republic,  ceased  to  be  elected  by  the  people.  The  two 
Consuls  had  been  for  centuries  chief  officers  of  honor 
and  of  authority  in  the  nation,  (like  our  own  President, 
only  elected  every  year,)  but  now  that  the  Emperor 
was  supreme,  the  Consul  was  in  a lower  degree  of  honor 
and  authority,  and  was  elected  from  the  Senate,  And 
now  that  the  Roman  Empire  had  extended  over  so 
many  small  countries,  officers  were  sent  out  to  govern 
the  provinces ; and  these  officers  were  generally  men 
who  had  been  Consuls.  These  men  were  called  Pro - 
Consuls,  For  Consuls,  As  if  Consuls,  because  in  the 
provinces  they  had  about  the  same  authority  which  the 
Consul  had  at  Rome.  As  therefore  Cicero,  before  the 
time  of  Saul,  was  Pro-Consul  of  the  province  of  Cilicia, 
in  its  chief  city,  Tarsus ; as  Gallio  was  Pro-Consul  of 
the  province  of  Achaia,  at  its  chief  city,  Corinth,1  so  was 
Sergius  Paulus  Pro- Consul  of  the  province  of  Cyprus,  at 
its  chief  city,  Paphos.  The  word  c Deputy ’ stands  here 
for  Pro-Consul.2  Sergius  Paulus  might  have  been  for- 
merly Senator  at  Rome.  At  any  rate,  he  had  in  some 
way  gained  the  election  of  the  Senate,  and  now  for  a 
year  or  longer  is  Pro-Consul,  or  Governor,  or  ‘Deputy’ 
of  Cyprus.  He  had  under  him  military  officers,  cen- 

1 Acts  xviii.  12-16. 

2 The  Greek  word  is  the  same  word  commonly  used  to  translate  the 
Latin  pro-consul  into  Greek. 


52 


( EIGHTH  SUNDAY.) 


turions,  captains,  etc.,  and  civil  officers,  assessors,  judges, 
etc. ; and  he  himself,  as  a J udge,  held  his  own  court, 
just  as  Gallio,  the  Pro-Consul  at  Corinth,  held  his  court 
when  the  people  attempted  to  accuse  Paul  before  him. 
The  Pro-Consul  was  perhaps  not  unlike  the  Governor 
whom  our  own  Congress  sends  out  to  administer  the 
laws  of  the  United  States  in  a territory  before  it  be- 
comes a State. 

Sergius  Paulus,  the  Pro-Consul  at  Paphos,  was  a 
4 prudent 5 man  : he  had  a candid  and  inquiring  mind  : 
he  admitted  the  sorcerer  to  his  presence,  and  sent  for 
Barnabas  and  Saul.  And  now,  before  him  as  a Judge, 
Truth  and  Falsehood  come  in  conflict  in  the  Apostle 
and  the  Magician. 

It  is  not  strange  that  we  find  this  magic-corker  with 
this  dignified  and  sober  official,  and  indeed  spending 
some  time  with  him,  as  it  would  seem.  “For  many 
years  before  this  time,  and  many  years  after,  impostors 
from  the  East,  pretending  to  magical  powers,  had  great 
influence  over  the  Roman  mind.”  Even  educated  Ro- 
mans had  become  superstitious.  There  were  at  Rome 
soothsayers  from  Asia  Minor : there  was  magic  medi- 
cine from  Syria : there  were  magic  tables  of  calculations 
from  Babylon  : there  were  even  Jewish  fortune-tellers, 
the  gipsies  of  that  day.  Even  the  great  generals,  like 
Pompey  and  Julius  Caesar,  consulted  these  soothsayers 
and  astrologers  as  oracles.  And  it  was  not  without 
some  shade  of  truth  that  the  great  Latin  satirist,  Juve- 
nal, describes  the  Emperor  Tiberius  Caesar,  ‘sitting 
on  the  rock  of  Capri,  with  his  flock  of  Chaldean  astrol- 
ogers round  him.’  These  magic-workers,  so  numer- 
ous throughout  the  Empire,  would  of  course  gather 
around  such  places  of  resort  as  Paphos ; and  it  is  not 
strange,  therefore,  that  the  Pro-Consul,  like  more  illus- 
trious men,  should  have  with  him  this  4 false  prophet,’ 


THE  PRO-CONSUL  AT  PAPHOS . 


53 


who,  though  a Jew,  had  given  himself  the  Arabic  name 
of  Elymas,  or,  The  Wise.  But  it  shows  the  impartial 
candor  of  his  mind  that  he  sent  for  Barnabas  and  Saul 
also,  and  wished  to  hear  from  them  “ the  word  of  God.” 
Perhaps  he  expected  to  hear  the  declaration  of  an  oracle 
or  to  see  some  wonder  wrought.  Perhaps  Elymas  was 
ready  to  answer  wonder  with  wonder,  as  the  Egyptian 
magicians  answered  Moses3  in  the  presence  of  Pharaoh. 

But  when  Saul  did  nothing  more  than  to  preach  the 
simple  faith  in  Jesus  as  the  Messiah,  Elymas  sought  to 
turn  away  the  Governor’s  mind.  Truth  was  on  one 
side : falsehood  on  the  other.  There  was  a plain  con- 
flict. It  was  of  the  highest  importance  that  the  Gos- 
pel should  not  be  overthrown  by  false  and  hypocrit- 
ical arts.  And  when  Elymas  attempted  to  prejudice 
and  pervert  the  Pro-Consul’s  mind  unfairly  against  the 
faith,  he  was  suddenly  silenced  in  an-  awful  manner. 
Pilled  with  that  same  Holy  Spirit  which  gave  Peter 
power  to  see  and  to  denounce  the  lies  and  hypocrisy  of 
Ananias  and  Sapphira,  Saul  was  able  to  see  the  wicked 
malice  of  this  man,  and  to  denounce  his  imposture. 
Conscious  of  his  apostolical  authority,  derived  from 
God,  as  was  Peter  when  he  solemnly  told  Simon,  the 
magician  of  Samaria,  “ Thy  heart  is  not  right  in  the 
sight  of  God”*  Saul  boldly  and  solemnly  exposed  the 
wicked  deception  of  Elymas  and  his  hatred  of  righteous- 
ness. He  called  down  a miracle  upon  him,  as  an  awful 
warning  to  all  such  impostors,  and  a rebuke  to  all  who 
trusted  them,  as  well  as  a proof  that  what  he  said  was 
the  word  of  God.  The  Roman  Governor,  not  like  many 
proud  men  in  Judea,  who,  when  they  were  ‘aston- 
ished,’ ‘marvelled’  and  still  disbelieved,  and  then  re- 
viled, took  the  proof  of  Saul’s  doctrine  with  an  honest 
heart,  and  believed  in  Jesus  of  Nazareth. 


3 Exodus  vii.  11,  22  ; viii.  7. 


4 Acts  viii.  21. 


54 


(. EIGHTH  SUNDAY.) 


The  conversion  of  such  a prominent  man  could  hard- 
ly fail  to  excite  much  attention  in  Cyprus ; and  we 
may  believe  that  through  his  influence  other  Gentiles, 
even  in  dissolute  Paphos,  and  in  various  parts  of  the 
island,  received  the  simple  doctrines  of  salvation  which 
he  had  learned  in  his  own  soul. 

Such  is  Saul’s  first  recorded  triumph  among  the  Gen- 
tiles : the  conversion  of  a man  of  authority,  in  one  of 
the  vilest  cities  of  the  heathen ; an  official  under  the 
great  nation  which  oppressed  the  Jews,  higher  in  office 
than  the  centurion  Cornelius  at  Caesarea ; an  honored, 
powerful  governor  of  a province,  yielding  his  heart  to 
the  simple  44  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus.” 

44  And  now,  from  this  point  in  the  Apostolical  history, 
Paul  appears  as  the  great  figure  in  every  picture.  Bar- 
nabas, henceforward,  is  always  in  the  background.  The 
great  Apostle  now  enters  on  his  work  as  Preacher  to 
the  Gentiles,  and  at  the  moment  of  his  active  occupa- 
tion of  the  field  in  which  he  is  called  to  labor,  his  name 
is  suddenly  changed.  As  Abram  was  changed  into 
Abraham,  when  God  promised  that  he  should  be  the 
4 father  of  many  nations  as  Simon  was  changed  into 
Peter  when  it  was  said,  4 On  this  rock  I will  build  my 
Church,’  so  Saul  is  changed  into  Paul  at  the  moment  of 
his  first  great  victory  among  the  Heathen.”  Before 
this,  he  has  always  been  called  Saul.  At  this  point,  he 
is  44  Saul  who  also  is  called  Paul.”  After  this  he  is 
always  called  Paul.  In  all  his  epistles  written  after- 
ward, he  calls  himself  Paul,6  and  never  Saul.  And 
Peter,  in  one  of  his  epistles,  calls  him  44  our  beloved 
brother  Paul.”  6 Why  is  it  that  his  name  is  changed, 
and  changed  just  at  this  time  ? 

Three  principal  reasons  have  been  given  for  the  change. 

6 See  the  first  verse  of  all  Paul’s  Epistles,  except  Hebrews. 

6 II.  Peter  iii.  15. 


THE  PRO-CONSUL  AT  PAPHOS . 


55 


Tlie  first  reason  is,  “ that  he  adopted  it  himself,  after 
his  conversion,  as  expressing  his  own  feelings.”  The 
Roman  name  Paulus  means  little.  As  Saul,  before  his 
conversion,  was  like  “ the  unbridled  King  Saul,”  the 
proud,  self-confident  persecutor  of  David,  so  Paul  the 
convert,  lowly  and  penitent,  wished  to  indicate  by  his 
very  name  that  he  was  “ the  least  of  the  Apostles,”  and 
“ less  than  the  least  of  all  saints.” 

The  second  reason  is,  that  Sergius  Paulus  gave  him 
his  own  name  as  a grateful  memorial  of  his  own  conver- 
sion ; “ that,  as  Scipio  was  called  Africanus  from  the 
conquest  of  Africa,  and  Metellus  was  called  Creticus 
from  the  conquest  of  Crete,  so  Saul  carried  away  his 
new  name  as  a trophy  of  his  victory  over  the  heathen- 
ism of  the  Pro-Consul  Paulus.” 

The  third  reason  is,  u that  Paul  used  the  Gentile 
form  of  his  Hebrew  name  from  this  time,  to  show  that 
he  was  a friend  and  teacher  of  the  Gentiles.”  Gentile 
names  were  often  adopted  in  Jewish  families,  as  the 
Greek  names  Philip7  and  Alexander,7  as  the  Roman 
names,  Crispus,  Justus,  and  Niger,8  as  in  our  own  time 
the  scattered  Jews  take  names  from  the  countries  in 
which  they  are.  Sometimes,  too,  there  were  double 
names,  one  national  and  the  other  foreign,  as  Eelteshaz- 
zar-Daniel,  Esther-Hadassa,9  Herod-Agrippa,  Simon- 
Peter,  and  so  Saul-Paulus.  Whichever  opinion  we 
adopt,  it  is  natural  that  the  name  of  the  Roman  Pro- 
Consul  should  bring  the  name  of  Paul  here  to  the 
mind  of  the  inspired  writer.  It  is  natural,  too,  that 
Henceforth  among  the  Gentiles  he  should  use  the  Ro- 
man name ; and  then,  having  used  it  on  his  travels,  and 

7 Matt.  x.  3 ; .Acts  xix.  33,  34 ; vi.  5 ; xxi.  8. 

8 Acts  xviii.  8 ; i.  23  ; xiii.  1. 

® Daniel  x.  1 ; Esther  ii.  7. 


56 


{EIGHTH  SUNDAY.) 


during  the  more  important  part  of  his  life,  he  should 
write  to  the  Gentile  churches,  “ I,  Paid  the  Apostle.” 
Paulus  was  the  name  of  a well-known  family  among 
the  Romans,  one  of  the  most  distinguished  members  of 
which,  Emilius  Paulus,  fell  fighting  against  Hannibal  at 
Cannes.  It  is  possible  that  when  Paul’s  father,  or  the 
family,  obtained  the  Roman  citizenship,  there  was  some 
connection  or  attachment  of  the  family  to  the  Roman 
Paulus  family,  and  so  the  parents  could  gratify  their 
Hebrew  and  their  Roman  attachments,  by  naming  their 
son  Saul  and  Paulus. 


( EIGHTH  SUNDAY.) 


QUESTIONS. 


HERE  was  Paphos  ? 

Do  you  think  the  Apostles  preached  at  any  places  be» 
tween  Salamis  and  Paphos  ? 

What  was  Paphos  ? 

What  people  lived  there  ? 

What  religion  prevailed  ? and  why  ? 

What  famous  general  afterward  visited  this  city  ? 

What  celebrated  poets  wrote  of  this  city  ? 

Was  the  religion  of  Paphos  moral  ? 

What  is  the  morality  of  heathen  religions  now  ? 

What  did  Saul  bring  to  Paphos  ? 

What  was  ‘the  Deputy’  ? 

What  was  a Roman  Consul  ? 

What  was  a Roman  Pro-Consul  ? 

What  famous-  orator  had  been  Pro-Consul  of  Cilicia  ? 
What  other  Pro-Consul  is  mentioned  in  ‘ the  Acts’  ? 
What  is  the  name  of  this  ‘ Deputy  ’ ? 

How  had  he  been  elected  to  this  office  ? 

What  office  may  he  have  held  at  Rome  ? 

What  officers  were  under  him  ? 

What  officer  in  our  own  government  was  the  Pro-Consui 


Whom  did  the  Apostles  find  with  the  Pro-Consul  ? 

What  other  men  like  him  are  mentioned  in  the  Scriptures  ? 
Is  it  necessary  to  think  he  tried  as  a prophet,  to  foretell 
future  events  ? 1 

What  did  educated  Romans  think  of  such  men  ? 

Will  education  keep  a man  from  absurd  and  wicked 
things  in  religion  ? 

Was  the  Pro-Consul  doing  a strange  thing  in  having  this 
magician  with  him  ? 

What  is  the  meaning  of  Bar-jesus  ?2 

1 See  page  43. 

2 Compare  Matt.  xvi.  17  with  John  i.  42,  and  xxi.  15. 


somewhat  like  ? 


(15) 


(. EIGHTH  SUNDAY.) 


What  language  is  4 Elymas,’  and  what  does  it  mean  ? 

Whom  does  the  Pro-Consul  send  for  ? 

Do  you  think  he  wished  to  know  the  truth  ? 

What  kind  of  a man  was  he  ? 

What  do  you  think  he  expected  from  the  Apostles  ? 

Between  what  two  things  was  the  conflict  ? 

What  did  Elymas  try  to  do  ? 

What  right  had  Saul  to  call  down  blindness  on  this  man  ? 

What  other  instances  in  the  Scriptures  of  such  power  ex- 
ercised, and  by  whom  ? 

What  was  the  miracle  for  ? 

How  did  Saul  publicly  condemn  Elymas’  secret  motives  ? 

Have  we  a right,  as  Saul  did,  to  condemn  the  motives  of 
another  ? 

How  did  the  Pro-Consul  differ  from  the  proud  Jews  who 
saw  our  Saviour’s  miracles  ? 

What  influence  would  the  Pro-Consul’s  conversion  be 
likely  to  have  through  the  island  ? 

What  must  we  have,  which  Saul  had,  to  lead  men  to 
Jesus  ? 

What  change  is  made  in  the  Apostle’s  name  here  ? 

What  other  similar  changes  of  name  in  the  Scriptures  ? 

What  is  he  called  before  and  after  this  time,  in  the 
Scriptures  ? 

Did  the  Apostle  afterward  call  himself  Saul  or  Paul  ? 

What  did  Peter  call  him  ? 

What  three  ways  are  there  of  accounting  for  the  change  ? 

Were  Gentile  names  ever  adopted  in  Jewish  families  ? 

What  examples  have  you  of  double  names  in  the  Scrip- 
tures ? 

Who  is  now  first  in  the  rest  of  the  Book  of  Acts,  Paul 
or  Barnabas  ? 

When  you  think  of  the  King  of  Israel,  is  Saul  a good 
or  a bad  name  ? 

When  you  think  of  the  Apostle  to  the  Gentiles,  is  Sau1 
a good  or  a bad  name  ? 

How  can  you  make  your  name  for  ever  a good  or  a bad 
name  ? 


(1C) 


IJlinifj  Sun'Cmn'. 


‘PERILS  OF  ROBBERS’  AND  ‘PERILS  OF  RIVERS.’ 


LESSON. 

Acts  xiii.  13,  14 ; xv.  36-39.  II.  Corinthians  xi.  26,  27. 

FROM  Paphos,  ships  would  be  much  more  frequent 
to  the  coast  of  Pamphylia  than  to  Alexandria  or 
Cyrene,  on  the  Egyptian  coast  of  the  Mediterranean, 
or  than  to  any  of  the  flourishing  cities  around  the  Arch- 
ipelago to  which  Paul  did  afterwards  go.  It  is  very 
probable  that  when  the  Apostles  were  ready  to  depart, 
a ship  was  just  about  to  sail  to  Attalia  or  to  Perga, 
and  that  they  took  advantage  of  the  opportunity  to  go 
thither.  A second  reason  why  they  went  to  Pamphylia 
next,  may  have  been,  that  Paul  might  like  to  go  now 
among  those  provinces  near  Cilicia.  Pamphylia  was 
next  his  native  province,  and  the  people  were  in  some 
respects  like  the  Cilicians.  A third  reason  may  have 
been,  that  the  people  of  Pamphylia  were  more  rough 
and  less  educated,  and  probably  more  simple-hearted 
“ than  the  inhabitants  of  those  provinces  which  were 
more  completely  penetrated  with  the  corrupt  civilisa- 
tion of  Greece  and  Rome and  Paul  might  have 
thought,  therefore,  that  they  would  be  more  likely  to 
receive  the  simple  truth.  A fourth  reason,  we  may 
suppose,  was  that  Paul  thought  of  the  many  families 
“ in  the  great  towns  beyond  the  mountains  of  Tarsus, 
such  as  Antioch  in  Pisidia,  and  Iconium  in  Lycaonia,” 
and  he  hoped  through  them  to  reach  the  Gentiles,  “who 
flocked  there,  as  everywhere,  to  the  worship  of  the  syn- 


58 


{NINTH  SUNDAY.) 


agogue.”  We  can  hardly  think  that  Paul  had  a direct 
vision  at  this  time,  like  the  trance  in  the  temple,1  or  like 
the  vision  at  Troas,2  for  these  visions  seem  to  be  record- 
ed, not  as  frequent  but  as  extraordinary  events.  What- 
ever was  the  inducement  to  visit  these  regions  rather 
than  others,  Paul  and  Barnabas  and  Mark  sailed  out  of 


Paphos,  around  past  the  promontories  at  the  west  end 
of  the  island.  Not  many  hours  after  the  promontories 
of  Cyprus,  on  the  east,  had  receded  in  the  horizon, 
would  be  seen  before  them,  far  in  the  north-west,  the 
hills  of  Lycia,  and  far  in  the  north-east,  the  high  cliffs 
of  Paul’s  native  province,  between  which  they  sailed 
straight  “ to  the  innermost  bend  of  the  bay  of  Attalia.” 


1 Acts  xxii.  17-21 


xvi.  9. 


PERILS  OF  ‘ROBBERS'  AND  ‘RIVERS. 


59 


As  they  sailed  over  this  hay,  they  would  see  a line  of 
“ragged  mountain-summits,”  stretching  along  in  a 
curve,  like  the  curve  of  the  coast,  back  through  the  in- 
terior, and  enclosing  a wide  plain,  itself  like  a bay 
hemmed  in  By  the  mountains.  Back  from  the  shore, 
like  Tarsus,  and  like  Tarsus,  on  a river,  was  Perga,  in 
this  large  plain,  with  hills  on  the  sides,  a valley  in  front, 
with  the  river  Oestrus  connecting  it  with  the  sea  and 
“ with  the  mountains  behind.”  We  know  almost  noth- 
ing of  this  city,  except  that  near  it,  on  a height,  was  a 
temple  of  Diana,  and  that  an  annual  festival  was  held 
in  honor  of  the  goddess.  Just  near  this  temple  we  may 
suppose  the  vessel,  sailing  up  the  river,  bringing  the 
great  Apostle,  came  to  its  moorings. 

The  Apostles  did  not  stay  long  in  Perga.  There  is 
no  notice  of  their  preaching  here  on  their  outward  jour- 
ney, as  there  is  on  their  return.3  If  they  did  preach  at 
this  time,  the  preaching  does  not  seem  attended  with 
very  marked  results.  Mark  left  them.  It  is  clearly 
against  their  wishes ; for  afterwards  Paul  condemned 
Mark  for  “ going  not  with  them  to  the  work.”  Possi- 
bly, too,  it  was  the  cause  of  ill-feeling  between  Paul  and 
Barnabas,  as  “ afterwards  it  was  the  cause  of  quarrel 
and  separation.”  4 Mark  probably  found  a ship  in  the 
river  about  to  sail  to  Palestine.  He  saw  now  the  peril 
of  the  journey  up  through  the  rough  country  and  the 
mountains.  He  thought  of  his  pleasant  early  home  in 
Jerusalem.  He  shrunk  from  the  work,  and  wished  to 
be  with  his  friends  ; and,  as  there  w^as  opportunity  to 
reach  home  by  a ship  direct  to  Caesarea,  or  to  some 
other  point  of  Palestine,  he  u departed  from  them  from 
Pamphylia.”  We  are  not  to  think  that  Mark  forfeited 
his  Christian  character.  Dwelling  always  before  in  Je- 


*Acts  xiv.  25. 


4 Acts  xv.  3 7-3  9. 


GO 


{NINTH  SUNDAY.) 


rusalem  probably,  and  unacquainted,  like  Paul  and 
Barnabas,  with  these  rougher  provinces,  he  may  have 
had  a wicked  timidity;  and  he  weakly  allowed  his 
natural  longing  for  home  to  over-balance  the  interests 
of  the  great  cause.  He  was  the  child  of  a Christian 
mother  ; he  knew  the  sincerity  and  devotion  of  the  dis- 
ciples who  met  to  pray  in  his  mother’s  house  ; 6 he  had 
felt  and  seen  the  power  of  their  religion  in  persecution ; 
he  had  heard  the  prayers  for  Peter  in  prison ; he  had 
been  in  Antioch  when  the  Spirit  of  God  abounded  unto 
the  salvation  of  many ; he  had  seen  Paul’s  preaching 
confirmed  by  a miracle  at#Paphos  ; he  knew  Barnabas 
and  Paul  were  on  a most  important  mission,  sent  by 
the  Holy  Ghost  to  carry  the  Gospel  to  unknown  parts 
of  the  earth  and  yet  now,  just  when  his  assistance  and 
company  would  be  needed,  if  ever,6  he  falters  and 
shrinks  from  the  work.  Afterwards,  however,  he  was 
willing  to  go  with  the  same  Apostles  on  a second  mis- 
sionary journey,4  and  though  Paul  atj:hat  time  would 
not  take  him,  he  did  go  with  Barnabas  to  Cyprus.4  But 
in  later  years  Paul  was  reconciled  and,  indeed,  attached 
to  him ; for,  when  he  writes  to  his  brethren  in  Colosse, 
he  commends  Mark  as  a fellow-worker  unto  the  king- 
dom of  God,  and  c a comfort  ’ to  himself ; 7 and  he  writes 
Timothy  to  bring  Mark  to  him,  for  “ he  is  profitable  to 
me  for  the  ministry.”  8 

After  Mark  had  left  them,  Paul  and  Barnabas  took 
their  perilous  way  a hundred  miles  directly  into  the  in- 
terior. Their  journey  lay  up  through  the  circle  of 
mountains,  whose  “ragged  summits”  they  had  seen 
from  the  sea.  From  the  broad  plain  beyond  Perga, 

*xii.  12. 

6 The  region  of  the  mountain-robbers  was  now  before  them. 

7Colossians  iv.  10,  11. 

8 II.  Timothy  iv  11. 


PERILS  OF  1 ROBBERS1  AND  ‘RIVERS.’ 


61 


they  toiled  upwards  to  the  high  table-land  on  the  other 
side  of  the  principal  mountain-range.  44  In  all  parts  of 
ancient  history,  the  lawless  and  marauding  habits  of  the 
people  of  these  mountains  were  notorious.”  Although 
the  Apostles  passed  a little  to  the  one  side  of  the  dis- 
trict of  Isauria,  the  name  which  is  more  than  any  other 
in  Asia  Minor  connected  with  daring  robbery,  yet  the 
people  of  that  region  carried  their  dashing  and  plunder- 
ing excursions  into  all  the  surrounding  country.  The 
Pisidians  also  were  robbers,  like  their  neighbors  on  the 
east,  and  even  the  Pamphylians  nearest  the  mountains 
“ had  not  quite  given  up  their  robber  habits,  and  did 
not  always  allow  their  neighbors  to  live  in  peace.” 
Even  Alexander  the  Great,  who  once  marched  from  Per- 
ga through  this  same  country  towards  Phrygia,  44  found 
some  of  the  worst  difficulties  of  his  whole  campaign  in 
penetrating  through  this  district.”  One  of  the  roughest 
campaigns  in  the  wars  of  Antiochus  the  Great,  King 
of  Syria,  was  among  the  hill-forts  near  the  upper  waters 
of  the  Oestrus  and  Eurymedon*  And  many  years  after 
this  time,  not  very  far  from  the  very  route  which  the 
Apostles  must  have  taken,  at  Cremna,  a robber-chief 
defied  the  Homans,  and  died  a desperate  death  in  these 
mountains.  44No  people  through  the  midst  of  whom 
Paul  ever  travelled,  abounded  more  in  those  c perils  of 
robbers  5 of  which  he  himself  speaks,  than  the  wild  and 
lawless  classes  of  the  Pisidian  highlanders ;”  and  it  is 
no  doubt  to  the  perils  of  this  journey  in  part  that  he 
alludes  when,  writing  to  the  Cfiristians  of  Corinth,  he 
sums  up  the  sufferings  of  his  life.  Here  certainly  he 
was  cin  weariness  and  painfulness,5  # and  4 in  watchings 
often,5  and  4 in  perils  by  the  heathen,5  if  not  4 in  perils 
of  robbers.5  * 

There  were  other  perils,  too,  from  the  very  nature  of 
the  country  and  its  climate.  There  were  4 perils  of  riv 


62 


(NINTH  SUNDAY.) 


ers.’ 9 We  perhaps  do  not  fully  appreciate  the  dangei 
in  which  an  Eastern  traveller  is,  from  the  crossing  of 
streams,  or  even  from  travelling  by  their  side,  as  when 
Paul  followed  the  valley  of  the  Oestrus.  The  dry 
water-courses  then  are  often  flooded  with  wonderful 
suddenness.  High  and  steep  mountains  and  violent 
rains,  suddenly  swell  the  streams  until  they  are  tor- 
rents. “All  the  rivers  in  the  East  are  liable  to  these 
violent  and  sudden  changes.  And  no  district  of  Asia 
Minor  has  more  of  these  c water-floods  5 than  the  moun- 
tainous tract  of  Pisidia,  where  rivers  burst  out  at  the 
bases  of  high  cliffs,  or  dash  wildly  down  through  nar 
row  ravines.”  Probably  there  were  bridges,  but  these 
might  be  swept  away  by  the  impetuous  and  swollen 
floods,  tossing  and  tumbling  on  their  way  from  the 
heights  and  precipices  of  Pisidia  to  the  Pamphylian 
Sea.  “ The  Apostle’s  course  was  probably  never  far  from 
the  channels  of  the  Oestrus  and  the  Eurymedon  ; and 
it  is  interesting  to  know  that  just  in  this  vicinity,  tc 
this  day,  in  the  village  of  Paoli,  (St.  Paul,)  his  name  it 
still  retained.”  It  is  the  custom  of  the  people  of  Perga, 
at  the  beginning  of  the  hot  season,  to  move  up  from  the 
plains  to  the  cool,  basin-like  hollows  on  the  mountains. 
The  people  may  be  seen  climbing  to  the  upper  grounds, 
men,  women,  and  children,  flocks  and  herds,  camels  and 
asses,  like  the  patriarchs  of  old.  If,  then,  St.  Paul  was 
at  Perga  in  May,  as  very  likely  he  may  have  been,  if  he 
left  Antioch  when  the  sea  was  first  c open  ’ in  the  spring, 
he  would  find  the  inhabitants  going  directly  on  the 
route  of  his  own  journey.  He  would  not  wish  to  stay 
in  Perga.  We  may  think  of  him  as  joining  some  cara- 

9 In  II.  Corinthians  xi.  26,  it  is  ‘ perils  of  waters .’  The  word 
strictly  means  rivers,  or  swollen  rivers,  torrents,  floods,  as  in  Matt, 
vii.  27,  “ the  rains  descended  and  the  rivers  came,”  the  swollen,  rapid 
torrent,  like  our  freshet. 


PERILS  OF  ‘ ROBBERS1  AND  ‘ RIVERS . 


63 


van  of  families  up  to  the  heights,  as  journeying  along  a 
road  with  frowning  cliffs  on  either  side,  with  fountains 
bursting  out  among  the  flowers,  with  dashing  and  dan- 
gerous floods  across  the  path,  as  climbing  up  even  in  a 
few  hours  into  a colder  climate,  into  a wilder  and  more 
barren  region,  with  valleys  of  sand  between  the  rocky 
hills,  until  at  length  he  and  Barnabas  came  out  on  the 
central  table-land  of  Asia  Minor,  and,  passing  the  shore 
of  a beautiful  lake,  came  to  Antioch  of  Pisidia. 


{NINTH  SUNDAY 


QUESTIONS. 


V/tTHERE  do  the  missionaries  go  next  ? 

* * Who  composed  1 his  company  ’ ? 

Do  you  suppose  them  directed  by  the  especial  revelation 
of  the  Spirit  ? 

What  four  reasons  may  be  given  why  they  go  there  ? 
How  many  of  these  reasons  are  like  those  which  led 
them  from  Antioch  to  Cyprus  ? 

Do  you  suppose  Paul  had  a vision  ? 

Where  was  Perga  ? 

How  did  its  situation  resemble  that  of  Tarsus  ? 

What  do  we  know  of  Perga  ? 

How  long  did  they  stay  here  ? 

Do  you  think  they  preached  ? Why  ? 

What  town  on  the  coast  had  they  passed  when  they 
reached  Perga  ? 

Where  is  it  mentioned  afterwards  ? 

What  painful  event  took  place  at  Perga  ? 

How  do  you  know  this  return  was  against  Paul’s  wishes  ? 
What  do  you  think  led  Mark  to  leave  them  ? 

Was  he  right,  or  wrong,  do  you  think  ? 

Do  you  think  Mark  forfeited  his  claim  to  be  thought  a 
Christian  ? 

What  had  been  Mark’s  home-influences  in  religious 
things  ? 

What  was  there  to  make  him  timid  ? 

Is  there  any  time  when  it  is  wrong  for  every  one  to  be 
timid  ? 

How  can  a man  gain  courage  in  doing  right  ? 

Who  and  what  will  help  him  ? 

Did  Mark  ever  return  to  his  work  ? 

Where  is  Mark  next  mentioned  ? 

On  what  occasion  ? 

What  did  Barnabas  wish  ? 

What  did  Paul  say,  when  Mark  wished  to  go  ? 

(17) 


{NINTH  SUNDAY.) 


Did  they  ever  work  together  again  ? 

Can  you  prove  Paul  became  attached  again  to  Mark  ? 

Where  did  Paul  and  Barnabas  now  go  ? 

What  made  their  work  now  toilsome  ? 

What  famous  robber-region  were  they  near  ? 

What  was  the  character  of  many  Pisidians  and  Pamphy- 
lians  ? 

What  famous  generals  had  much  trouble  here  ? 

What,  in  one  of  his  letters  afterwards,  describes  Paul’s 
toil  and  peril  ? 

What  other  peril  from  the  nature  of  the  country  ? 

How  may  * perils  of  waters  ’ be  translated  ? 

What  was  true  of  Pisidia  in  comparison  with  the  rest  of 
Asia  Minor  ? 

How  many  of  these  perils  can  you  suppose  Paul  was  m 
on  this  journey  ? 

What  other  of  his  sufferings  may  have  happened  at  this 
time  ? 

What  time  of  the  year  do  you  suppose  it  was  ? 

What  time  of  the  year  did  the  people  of  Perga  leave 
their  city  ? and  for  what  ? 

What  new  reason  is  there,  then,  for  not  staying  longer 
now  in  Perga  ? 

What  changes  in  country  and  climate,  in  going  up  from 
Perga  to  Antioch  in  Pisidia  ? 

The  cour^  of  what  stream  did  they  follow  ? 

Where  was  Antioch  in  Pisidia  ? 

Why  called  Antioch  in  Pisidia  ? 

(18) 


Cwiijj  Suit'Ll ;ttr. 


JESUS  OF  NAZARETH,  THE  MESSIAH. 


LESSON. 


Acts  xiii.  15-41. 


F Antioch  in  Pisidia  we  know  but  little,  but  it  was 


a town  of  sufficient  consequence  to  be  a Roman 
colony.1  Romans  and  Roman  soldiers  and  Roman  mil- 
itary standards  and  Roman  magistrates  were  seen  here. 
The  great  road  from  Smyrna  and  Ephesus  to  the  i Cili- 
cian  Gates,52  near  Tarsus,  led  through  this  town ; and 
Antioch  was  about  half-way  between  the  Archipelago 
and  the  ( Gates.5  Here,  among  Romans,  Greeks,  Pisi- 
dians,  were  Jews  in  larger  or  smaller  numbers ; for 
here  is  a synagogue  in  which  Jews  and  Gentile  prose- 
lytes met  to  worship.  If  you  had  gone  into  this  syna- 
gogue, you  would  probably  have  seen  the  women  sepa- 
rated from  the  men,  either  in  a separate  gallery,  01 
behind  a lattice-work  partition  : the  men  all  with 
hats  on : the  desk  in  the  centre,  where  the  reader 
c opened  the  book  in  sight  of  all  the  people  :5  “ the 
carefully  closed  ark  on  the  side  of  the  building  nearest 
to  Jerusalem,55  where  the  rolls  or  manuscripts  of  the 
law  were  kept : “ the  seats8  all  round  the  building,  from 

1 The  meaning  of  Roman  colony , in  connection  with  a town,  will 
be  seen  when  we  come  to  the  description  of  the  colony  of  Philippi, 
in  Twentieth  Sunday.  Antiooh  in  Pisidia  was  a colony , like  Philippi. 

4 See  the  map  of  Cilicia,  in  First  Sunday. 

8 In  the  East,  probably  there  would  not  be  raised  seats,  as  in  the 
drawing,  but  rather  matting  without  benches. 


JESUS  OF  NAZARETH,  THE  MESSIAH. 


05 


which  ‘ the  eyes  of  all  those  in  the  synagogue  were  fast- 
ened ’ on  the  one  who  speaks : the  chief  seats  nearest 
the  ark,  and  the  platform  for  the  ‘ruler’  or  ‘rulers’  of 
the  synagogue.”  After  the  opening  prayer,  “the  sacred 
roll  of  manuscript  was  handed  from  the  ark  to  the 
reader  hy  the  attendant  or  ‘ minister,’*  and  parts,  first 


r a > 

D 

n 

- 

'1  B _|  ‘ 

- 

D 

D 

L. 

) ^ 

c 

^=5,  ^ 

F E F 

Trnjm umnn 

A SYNAGOGUE. 


A — Sacred  recess  of  the  Ark,  ■with  doors  or  curtains  in  front.  B — Platform  for 
chief  speakers.  C — Reader’s  desk.  D — Seats,  with  women’s  gallery  above  them. 
E — Hall  or  court.  P — Stairs  to  women’s  gallery. 

of  the  law  and  then  of  the  prophecies,  were  read  in 
the  regular  order  of  the  Sabbath-lessons.  The  reader 
stood  in  the  desk  and  all  the  congregation  sat  around. 
The  manuscript  was  rolled  up  and  handed  back  to  the 
‘ minister  ’ and  returned  to  the  ark.  Then  followed  a 
pause,  during  which  strangers  or  learned  men  who  had 
‘any  word  of  consolation’  or  of  exhortation  rose  and 
addressed  the  congregation.  And  then,  after  rehears- 
ing the  story  of  the  suffering  of  the  chosen  people,  or 
the  allegorical  interpretation  of  some  dark  passage  of 

4 Luke  iv.  17,  20  ; see  also  note  11,  page  46. 


66 


{TENTH  SUNDAY.) 


Holy  Writ,  the  worship  was  closed  with  a benediction 
and  a solemn  Amen,”  uttered  perhaps  by  the  congrega- 
tion.6 

On  the  Sabbath  after  Paul  and  Barnabas  reached 
Antioch,  the  congregation  came  together  as  usual  in 
the  synagogue.  There  were  Gentiles  as  well  as  Jews 
in  the  seats  along  the  sides — converted  proselytes  from 
the  city  and  the  country  around.  In  the  gallery,  or  be- 
hind a lattice,  were  the  Jewesses,  and  among  them 
4 honorable  women.5  The  two  strangers  came  in  ; they 
were  offered  the  Tallith , the  loose,  fringed,  white,  four- 
cornered  scarf  worn  on.  the  shoulders  or  head — the  re- 
galia of  an  Israelite  in  the  synagogue — and  receiving  it, 
they  sat  down  on  the  seats  with  the  others.  Prayer 
was  offered.  The  4 minister 5 handed  4 the  book 5 from 
the  ark  to  the  reader  at  the  desk.  Portions  of  the  law 
and  the  prophets  were  read.  The  book  was  handed 
back,  and  placed  again  in  the  ark.  And  then  the  4 rulers 
of  the  synagogue  5 44  sent  to  the  new  comers,  on  whom 
many  eyes  had  already  been  fixed,  and  invited  them  to 
address  the  assembly,  if  they  had  words  of  comfort  or 
of  instruction  to  speak  to  their  fellow-Israelites.55  We 
can  almost  see  Paul,  as  he  rises  to  speak.  With  a face 
full  of  earnestness,  and  an  attitude  at  once  animated 
and  emphatic,  he  stretches  out  his  hand  and  commences 
his  address. 

We  may  not  have  recorded  all  that  Paul  said,  but  we 
certainly  have  the  substance  of  what  he  said,  and  that 
substance  in  his  very  words : 

ADDRESS  IN  THE  SYNAGOGUE. 

Notice  now  the  object  of  this  address,  and  its  prin- 
cipal parts. 

The  Object.  The  one  great  object  was  to  prove  to 


6 Nehemiah  viii.  6. 


JESUS  OF  NAZARETH,  THE  MESSIAH.  G7 

the  native  Jews  and  the  Gentile  proselytes,  mingled  in 
the  synagogue,  that  Jesus  op  Nazareth  is  the  Mes- 
siah predicted  in  the  Hebrew  Scriptures . 

To  prove  this,  he  does  not  state  his  proposition  at  the 
beginning  of  his  address,  and  at  once  proceed  to  prove 
it  from  the  Scriptures,  as  perhaps  we  would  do  ; but  he 
takes  the  more  usual  form  of  exhortation  in  the  syna- 
gogue. 

I.  The  National  History.  (Introductory:  16th  to 
2 2d  verse.)  As  it  was  customary  to  rehearse  some  part 
of  the  nation’s  history,  he  gives  a partial  account  of 
God’s  dealings  with  the  Hebrew  people.  Paul  does 
here  just  as  Peter  did  at  the  first  assembly  after  our 
Lord’s  ascension  6 and  at  the  Pentecost-,7  and  as  Stephen 
did  before  the  national  council,8  when  they  wished  to 
win  the  fixed  attention  of  the  people.  He  makes  the 
history,  the  promises,  the. prophecies,  to  which  all  would 
be  eagerly  attentive,  the  introduction  to  his  argument. 
He  therefore  first  sketches  the  history  of  the  nation  from 
the  bondage  of  Egypt  to  King  David.  The  congrega- 
tion sees,  too,  that  Paul  firmly  believes  their  Scriptures. 

II.  The  Promise.  (23d  verse.)  He  next  says  that 
that  great  promise  made  to  David,0  (which  all  Jews 
were  expecting  to  be  fulfilled,)  that  some  one  of  David’s 
posterity  should  reign  on  his  throne,  as  Lord  and  De- 
liverer, is  fulfilled  in  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  a 4 Saviour 
unto  Israel,’  the  long-expected  Messiah.  k This  is  the 
plain  statement  or  proposition  which  he  then  goes  on 
to  prove. 

III.  Proof  that  Jesus  of  Nazareth  was  meant  in 
the  Promise.  (24th  to  37th  verse.)  Next  comes  the 
argument  to  prove,  from  their  own  Scriptures,  that 

6 Acts  i.  16.  7 ii.  16.  8 vii.  2. 

9 I.  Chronicles  xvii.  11-14;  IT.  Samuel  vii.  12,  13,  16;  Psalm 

lxxxIx.  3,  4. 


68 


( TENTH  SUNDAY.) 


Jesus  is  the  one  person  of  David’s  posterity  whom  God 
meant  in  this  promise : that  is,  to  prove  that  the  ancient 
Hebrew  Scriptures  were  fulfilled  in  this  Jesus.  Three 
proofs  are  given. 

First  Proof.  (24th  and  25th  verses.)  Jesus  of  Na- 
zareth appeared  after  his  extraordinary  forerunner  had 
announced  his  coming,  just  as  the  prophets  declared  the 
Messiah  would  come.10  All  the  people  acknowledged 
John  the  Baptist  a wonderful  prophet,  sent  of  God.11 
He  could  not  and  he  would  not  lie,  and  yet  he  always 
said,  while  fulfilling  his  mission, 4 1 am  not  the  Messiah, 
but  one  among  you,  who  cometh  after  me,  is  the  Mes- 
siah. I am  the  forerunner,13  as  Isaiah  says.10  He  is 
the  Ojs'e  coming  after  the  forerunner.’ 

Second  Proof.  (26th  to  29th  verse.)  Jesus  of  Naza- 
reth was  in  innocence  and  in  ignominy  slain,  as  the 
Scriptures  declared  the  Messiah  would  be : the  rulers 
did  not  understand  that  the  Scriptures  declare  that  the 
innocent  Messiah  should  be  condemned  and  slain,  as 
they  plainly  do.  And  so  they,  in  c condemning’  Jesus, 
in  finding  4 no  cause  of  death  ’ in  him,  in  asking  Pilate 
to  slay  him,  fulfilled  these  very  prophecies13  which  they 
did  not  understand.  The  death  of  Jesus  on  the  cross,14 
and  his  burial  in  the  sepulchre,15  therefore,  particularly 
fulfilled  the  Scripture.  The  Apostle,  while  making  this 
second  proof  that  Jesus  is  Messiah,  appeals  also  to  the 
Jews  (children  of  the  stock  of  Abraham)  and  prose- 
lytes (whoever  feareth  God)  to  receive  the  4 word  of 
salvation  ’ sent,  because  the  rulers  have  rejected  it. 

10  Isaiah  xl.  3 ; Malaehi  iv.  5,  6.  11  Matthew  xiv.  5 ; 3^xi.  26. 

12  John  i.  23. 

13  Such  prophecies  especially  as  Isaiah  liii.  3,  5-9,  etc.,  and  Daniel 
ix.  26,  etc.  The  Jews  understood  these  and  others  to  refer  to  the 
coming  of  Messiah. 

14  Isaiah  liii.  12. 


15  liii.  9. 


JESUS  OF  NAZARETH, \ THE  MESSIAH  09 

Third  Proof.  (Verses  30  to  37.)  Jesus  of  Nazareth 
rose  from  the  dead.  We  know  surely  God  raised  him 
from  the  dead;  for  those  who  knew  him  best,  who 
came  up  from  Galilee  to  Jerusalem  •with  him,  many 
persons,  bear  testimony  that  they  saw  him,  not  once , 
but  c many  days.’  This  fact  is  therefore  well  estab- 
lished, and 'it  is  in  direct  fulfilment  of  God’s  promise  to 
our  ancestors.'  For,  just  as  God  foretold  to  David  that 
the  Messiah  should  be  of  his  seed,  when  he  said,  c Thou 
art  my  son,  this  day  have  I begotten  thee,’  which  we 
have  always  understood  as  referring  to  the  Messiah, 
and  just  as  he  said  that  his  mercies  and  promises  should 
be  surely  received  by  David  and  by  us  his  posterity,  so 
did  he  foretell  to  David  that  the  Holy  One,  the  Mes- 
siah, c should  not  see  corruption ,’  that  is,  his  body 
should  not  be  corrupted  in  the  grave,  but  should  be 
preserved  from  decay  and  death.  This  promise  made 
to  David,  c Thou  shalt  not  suffer  thine  Holy  One  to  see 
corruption,’  cannot  mean  that  David  was  the  Holy 
One,  for  David’s  body  saw  corruption  in  the  grave,  but 
it  meant  that  the  Messiah,  the  Holy  One,  should  not 
see  corruption  ; and  that  Messiah  is  Jesus  of  Nazareth 
therefore,  for  God  raised  Him  up  again,  and  He  saw  no 
corruption. 

These,  then,  are  the  three  arguments  : The  Scriptures 
say  that  the  Messiah  will  have  a forerunner  : Jesus  of 
Nazareth  had  a forerunner.  The  Scriptures  say  that 
the  Messiah  will  be  unjustly  condemned  and  slain  : 
Jesus  of  Nazareth  was  unjustly  condemned  and  slain 
by  our  very  rulers,  who  were  blindly  fulfilling  the 
Scriptures.  The  Scriptures  say  that  the  Messiah  shall 
rise  from  the  dead : Jesus  of  Nazareth  has  risen  from 
the  dead.  Therefore, 

Jesus  of  Nazareth  is  the  Messiah. 

IV.  The  Practical  Application.  (Verses  38,  39.) 


VO 


{TENTH  SUNDAY.) 


Take  this  Jesus,  then,  the  Fulfilment  of  the  Ancient 
Scriptures,  as  your  Messiah.  Your  sins  may  be  for- 
given, if  you  believe  in  Him ; and  though  you  cannot 
be  made  just  by  that  law  of  Moses  which  has  this  day 
been  read  in  the  desk  of  the  synagogue,  because  you 
have  all  broken  it,  yet  all  of  you,  who  believe  in  Jesus 
as  Messiah,  may  become  pardoned,  and  so  justified,  by 
Him. 

V.  The  Warning.  (Verses  40,  41.)  And  beware 
lest  the  dreadful  prediction  of  the  prophets  to  all  who 
simply  wonder  at  the  works  of  God,  and  despise  them, 
oome  upon  you. 


( TENTH  SUNDAY.) 


QUESTIONS. 

WHAT  do  we  know  of  Antioch  in  Pisidia  ? 

’ ' Describe  a synagogue. 

What  were  the  three  principal  parts  of  the  worship  ? 

On  what  day  of  the  week  did  the  missionaries  go  to  the  syn- 
agogue ? 

How  were  they  taken  notice  of  ? By  whom  ? 

What  was  the  custom  with  Israelite  strangers  ? 

What  was  the  one  great  object  of  Paul’s  speech  ? 

Does  Paul  state  this  object  at  first  ? 

I.  What  is  the  first  division  of  the  speech  ? 

What  common  custom  does  Paul  follow  ? 

What  other  speeches  in  the  New  Testament  follow  this 
custom  ? 

What  period  of  Jewish  history  does  he  describe  ? 

How  would  the  Jews  like  this  story  ? 

What  would  be  the  effect  on  their  minds  in  reference  to 
the  rest  of  the  speech  ? 

Who  were  there  in  the  synagogue  that  ‘feared  God’ 
(16th  verse)  besides  men  of  Israel  ? 

What  is  meant  (17th  verse)  by  ‘ exalted  the  people’  ? 
What  is  meant  by  ‘ suffered  their  manners  ’ ? 

When  God  ‘ suffers  ’ sin,  does  he  cause  it  ? 

Did  David  ever  commit  sin  ? 

What  is  meant,  then,  by  ‘ a man  after  mine  own  heart’  ? 

II.  What  is  the  second  division  of  the  speech  ? 

What  promise  is  this  ? 

• Where  do  you  find  it  recorded  ? 

What  is  meant  by  David’s  seed  reigning  forever  ? 

III.  What  is  the  third  division  of  the  speech  ? 

What  does  Paul  take  his  proofs  from  ? 

Why  was  it  important  to  prove  this  ? 

1.  What  is  the  first  proof  that  Jesus  is  Messiah  ? 

Why  did  the  J ews  think  the  Messiah  would  have  a re- 
markable forerunner  ? 

(19) 


{TENTH  SUNDAY.) 


What  did  the  Jewish  people  think  of  John  the  Baptist? 
Why  ought  they  to  receive  John’s  word  as  true  ? 

What  did  John  say  of  himself  ? 

Whose  words  did  he  quote  ? 

2.  What  is  the  second  proof  that  Jesus  is  Messiah  ? 

In  what  respect  did  the  4 rulers  ’ misinterpret  their  own 
Scriptures  ? 

How  did  they  fulfil  the  Scriptures  they  misunderstood  ? 
Why  did  they  misunderstand  them  ? 

To  whom,  then,  did  the  promise  of  the  prophets  come  ? 
(26th  verse.) 

What  two  classes  are  addressed  in  the  twenty-sixth 
verse  ? 

3.  What  is  the  third  proof  that  Jesus  is  Messiah  ? 

How  do  we  know  God  raised  him  from  the  dead  ? 

How  many  persons  saw  him  alive  after  his  resurrection  ? 
What  persons  were  they  ? 

Did  they  see  him  more  than  once  ? 

What  passage  did  Paul  quote  to  prove  again  that  Jesus 
is  David’s  son  ? 

How  did  the  Jews  commonly  understand  this  passage  ? 
What  passage  did  he  quote  to  prove  whatever  is  promised 
to  David’s  son  is  sure? 

What  passage  to  prove  the  Messiah  would  rise  from  the 
dead  ? 

Why  couldn’t  this  passage  mean  David  ? 

Whom  did  it  mean  ? Why  ? 

State  now  Paul’s  three  proofs  that  Jesus  is  Messiah. 

Which  is  the  strongest  of  the  three  proofs  ? 

IV.  What  is  the  fourth  division  of  the  speech  ? 

What  is  the  object  of  preaching  ? (38th  verse.)  Through 
whom? 

What  advantage  is  it  to  believe  Jesus  is  Messiah  more 
than  to  live  by  the  law  of  Moses  ? 

Whom  does  that  law  condemn  ? 

Are  we,  or  are  we  not,  under  Moses’  law  ? 

Whom  does  Messiah  save  ? 

V.  What  is  the  fifth  division  of  the  speech  ? 

To  whom  does  this  warning  now  come  ? 

(9  (A 


(BUbmll]  Stmirag. 


AN  EXTRAORDINARY  THING  IN  A SYNAGOGUE. 


LESSON. 

Acts  xiii.  42-50. 

THINK  now  of  Paul’s  new  position,  as  he  stands  m 
the  synagogue  of  Pisidian  Antioch,  at  the  close  of 
his  address.  He  has  been  saying  the  same  things  which 
he  had  listened  to  with  so  much  bitterness  when  Stephen 
made  his  speech  before  the  Sanhedrim.  How  strange 
it  seems,  when  we  think  of  the  two  attitudes : Saul, 
with  the  garments  of  the  witnesses  at  Jerusalem,  and 
consenting  to  the  death  of  Stephen  ; Paul,  in  the  syna- 
gogue Q,t  Antioch  of  Pisidia,  repeating  the  story,  the 
prophecies  which  Stephen  repeated,  and  finishing  the 
argument  which  Stephen  would  no  doubt  have  finished, 
had  he  been  permitted.  Here  is  a change  which  only 
the  Spirit  of  God  can  make. 

“ This  address  made  a deep  and  thrilling  impression 
on  the  audience.  While  the  congregation  were  pouring 
out  of  the  synagogue,  many  of  them  crowded  around 
the  speaker,  begging  that  c these  words,’  which  had 
moved  their  deepest  feelings,  might  be  repeated  to 
them  on  their  next  occasion  of  assembling  together.”  1 
And  when  most  of  the  people  had  gone,  many  of  the 
J ews  and  Gentiles,  who  had  been  powerfully  moved  by 

1 The  words  4 the  next  Sabbath,’  are  translated  in  the  margin,  1 in 
the  week  between,’  and  it  is  not  quite  certain  whether  they  mean  the 
next  Saturday  or  some  other  day.  The  Jews  were  accustomed  to 
meet  in  their  synagogue  on  Monday  and  Thursday,  as  well  as  Saturday. 


72 


(ELEVENTH  SUNDAY.) 


the  proof  that  Jesus  was  the  Messiah,  still  clung  to 
Paul  and  Barnabas,  and  followed  them.  The  Apostles 
urged  them  to  hold  fast  their  present  convictions,  and 
knowing  the  opposition  and  the  persecution  which  this 
belief  in  Jesus  everywhere  excited,  to  ask  God’s  grace, 
to  keep  and  to  help  them. 

It  is  not  probable  that  these  two  good  men  were  idle 
through  the  week.  They  attended,  no  doubt,  the  meet- 
ings at  the  synagogue,  if  there  were  any.  They  found 
opportunity  for  conversation  with  many  persons  : they 
were  invited  to  the  homes  of  the  people  : they  taught 
and  argued  the  Messiahship  of  Jesus,  proving  it  by 
quotations  from  the  Hebrew  Scriptures  which  they  had 
not  cited  on  the  Sabbath.  They  and  their  doctrine 
were  soon  known  through  all  the  town  by  both  Jews 
and  Gentiles.  All  this  seems  evident,  for  the  next  Sab- 
bath, 4 the  whole  city 5 flocked  in  a great  multitude  to 
hear  the  word  of  God.  The  crowding  of  the  people  to 
hear  this  new  doctrine,  especially  the  numbei;  of  the 
Gentiles  not  proselytes,  the  common,  profane,  uncircum- 
cised, unholy  throng,  touched  at  once  the  bigoted  pride 
and  envy  of  the  Jews.  They  could  not  endure  that  all 
these  were  to  be  their  equals  in  religious  things,  that 
c the  favored  people 5 were  to  be  degraded  to  this  low 
level.  Instead  of  hoping  and  believing  that  many  of 
the  multitude  would  become  proselytes  to  their  own 
faith,  they  selfishly  feared  that  their  own  importance 
and  dignity  would  be  lessened,  if  the  blessings  God  had 
given  them  should  be  shared  by  the  multitude.  Stub- 
born and  wilful  in  their  exclusiveness,  “ they  who  on 
one  Sabbath  had  listened  with  breathless  interest  to  the 
teachers  who  spoke  to  them  of  the  promised  Messiah, 
were  on  the  next  Sabbath  filled  with  the  most  excited 
indignation  when  they  found  that  this  Messiah  was  4 a 
light  to  lighten  the  Gentiles,’  as  well  as  ‘.the  glory  of 


STRANGE  THING  IN  A SYNAGOGUE.  73 

his  people  Israel.’  ” An  uproar  was  made  ; and  when 
Paul,  who  is  evidently  the  chief  speaker,  again  addressed 
them,  they  reviled  and  contradicted. 

And  now,  right  here  in  this  synagogue  of  Pisidia, 
occurs  the  great  change  in  the  Apostle’s  whole  life- 
course  of  preaching  — indeed,  in  the  whole  apostolic 
method  of  preaching.  He  boldly  turns  away  from  the 
Jews  to  the  Gentiles.  We  do  not  know  that  this  had 
at  any  time  been  done  before.  Paul  indeed  understood 
fully  that  whenever  the  time  should  come  when  the 
Gentiles  would  hear  his  message  and  the  Jews  would 
not,  he  was  not  to  hesitate  to  turn  to  c the  uncircum- 
cised,’ ; the  unclean,’  ‘ the  dogs,’  c the  offscouring.’  He 
knew  such  a thing  would  violate  the  Jewish  custom, 
and  would  meet  with  scorn  and  contempt  and  spiteful 
persecution  ; but  the  words  of  the  vision  on  the  road  to 
Damascus,  the  command  repeated  at  Damascus,  and  the 
words  of  the  vision  at  Jerusalem,  were  all  plain  and 
positive.  He  was  to  offer  his  message  always  to  the 
Jew  first,  and  then  to  the  Gentile.2  Right  here  was 
the  turning-point  and  test  of  his  Apostleship  to  the  Gen- 
tiles. Never  before  had  there  been  a time  when,  in  a 
mixed  mass  of  circumcised  and  uncircumcised  crowded 
together  in  a synagogue,  the  faith  of  the  Hebrew  Scrip- 
tures had  been  offered  openly  to  Gentiles  who  were  not 
proselytes , and  offered  t®  them  because  the  Jews  reject- 
ed it.  Jesus  had  indeed  praised  the  faith  of  individual 
Gentiles,  like  the  Roman  centurion  at  Capernaum,3  and 
the  Syrophenician  woman.4  Peter  had  preached  to  the 
household  of  Cornelius,  the  Roman  officer,  but  it  was 
distinctly  separate  from  all  Jews.  So  Sergius  Paulus, 
the  Roman  Governor  of  Cyprus,  had  believed,  but  it  is 
not  said  that  there  were  synagogues  in  Paphos,  nor  does 

2 Romans  i.  16.  8 Luke  vii.  9.  4 Matt.  xv.  28,  and  Mark  vii.  26. 


74 


( ELEVENTH  SUNDAY.) 


it  appear  that  there  were  Jews,  other  than  the  * false 
prophet,’  present.  But  here  were  both  Jews  and  Gen- 
tiles together  in  great  numbers.  In  the  hearing  of  both, 
the  word  of  life  had  been  spoken ; the  Jews  had  rejected 
it;  and  therefore  Paul,  boldly  breaking  through  all 
bigotry,  narrow  pride,  and  exclusiveness,  turned  direct- 
ly away  from  the  J ews  to  the  unproselyted  Gentiles. 
Here,  then,  he  stood  forth  fully  revealed,  the  Apostle  to 
the  Gentiles .B  We,  in  our  day,  can  hardly  feel  how 
much  strength  of  character  it  needed  to  take  this  bold 
position,  nor  how  much  especial  heavenly  grace  and 
strength  even  an  inspired  Apostle  required  for  this  most 
extraordinary  and  most  difficult  duty. 

The  Apostles  take  pains  to  make  the  impression,  that 
this  extraordinary  conduct  by  them  in  the  synagogue, 
is  not  the  result  simply  of  their  own  judgment  and  wish. 
They  quote  immediately  from  the  Hebrew  Scriptures  to 
show  they  are  right  in  turning  from  Jews  who  reject 
the  Gospel,  to  Gentiles  who  receive  the  Gospel.  From 
their  own  sacred  writings,  they  quoted  a prophecy 
which  predicts  the  preaching  of  the  word  of  God  to 
people  outside  the  Hebrew  nation,  and  they  claimed 
that  the  time  of  the  fulfilment  of  the  prophecy  had 
come.  “ I have  set  thee  to  be  a light  to  the  Gentiles , 
that  thou  shouldest  be  for  salvation  to  the  ends  of  the 
earth”  They  still  more  boldly  claimed,  also,  that  they 
were  acting  by  the  direct  command  of  God  ; that  in 
this  prophecy,  God  directed  them  to  perform  this  most 
unusual  duty:  ‘For  so  hath  the  Lord  commanded  us? 
a duty  which  was  no  longer  to  be  unusual  with  them. 
Wherever,  afterwards,  the  Jews  rejected  their  message, 
they  turned  to  the  Gentiles. 

Two  effects  were  immediately  produced  by  these  bold 


p Romans  xi.  IB. 


STRANGE  THING  IN  A SYNAGOGUE. 


75 


words  of  the  Apostles.  The  Gentiles  gladly  hailed  this 
most  extraordinary  message  to  them  : the  J ews  burned 
with  more  bitter  opposition,  until  at  length  they  set 
into  motion  an  angry  persecution. 

The  Apostles’  hearts  were  filled  with  joy,  for  they 
had  great  success  in  preaching  to  the  Gentiles.  For 
all  the  perils  of  robbers  and  of  rivers,  for  all  his  weari- 
ness and  watchings  on  the  road,  Paul  had  now  an 
abundant  reward.  The  good  news  spread  through  the 
country.  Through  a large  region  of  even  wild  Pisidia, 
and  perhaps  of  Phrygia,  6 the  good  news  of  salvation 
through  Jesus  Christ  was  ‘published.’ 

The  Jews  probably  shut  the  Apostles  out  of  the  syn- 
agogue at  once,  but  they  were  not  satisfied  with  that. 
They  determined  to  drive  them  out  of  the  city ; and 
they  succeeded,  by  trick  and  by  intrigue.  They  excited 
‘ the  devout  and  honorable  women,  and  the  chief  men 
of  the  city.’  There  *were  many  women,  who  were  pros- 
elytes to  the  Jewish  religion,  in  the  towns  out  of  Pal- 
estine ; and  they  had  no  small  influence.  Most  of  the 
women  in  Damascus,  it  is  said,  were  proselytes.  Here 
in  Antioch  of  Pisidia,  there  seem  to  have  been  not  only 
Jewish  women,  but  other  women,  who  attended  the 
synagogue.  As  the  women  whom  the  Jews  excited 
were  called  ‘devout,’  they  held  probably  the  Jewish 
faith : as  they  are  called  ‘ honorable  ’ in  this  Gentile 
city,  they  were  probably  at  first  Gentiles.  It  is  not 
likely  that  the  Jews  would  go  directly  to  Gentile  women 
who  did  not  accept  the  Jewish  faith.  It  is  not  likely 
that  strict  Jewesses  could  have  had  large  influence  in 

6 “Antioch  in  (or  near)  Pisidia-  being  a border  city,  was  considered 
at  different  times  as  belonging  to  different  provinces.  Ptolemy  places 
it  in  Pamphylia,  and  Strabo  in  Phrygia.”  This  is  accounted  for  by 
supposing  that  Pisidia  was  formerly  part  of  Phrygia,  but  in  Paul’s 
time,  a part  of  Pamphylia.  See  the  map  in  Ninth  Sunday. 


76 


{ELEVENTH  SUNDAY.) 


this  Roman  town.  We  suppose,  therefore,  that  these 
women  were  proselytes  rather  than  native  Jews  or 
open  Gentiles.  Exciting  these  women  of  position  and 
of  recognised  piety  against  the  Apostles,  and  either  by 
the  influence  of  the  women  or  in  addition  to  them,  ex- 
citing the  chief  men  of  the  city,  the  Jews  organized  a 
systematic  persecution.  “ Whether  the  supreme  mag- 
istrates of  the  colony  were  induced  by  this  unfair  agi- 
tation to  pass  a sentence  of  formal  banishment,  we  are 
not  informed,”  but  the  Apostles  were  expelled  out  of 
the  limits  of  the  colony. 


{ELEVENTH  SUNDAY.) 


QUESTIONS. 

WHOSE  speech  is  Paul’s  speech  in  Antioch  like  ? 

" * What  resemblance  can  you  trace  ? 

What  change  had  taken  place  in  Paul  ? 

Can  you  account  for  this  great  cnange  in  Paul  in  more 
than  one  way  ? 

What  kind  of  an  impression  did  Paul’s  speech  make  ? 
What  did  the  Gentiles  in  the  synagogue  wish  from  Paul  ? 

Do  you  think  these  4 Gentiles  ’ were  proselytes,  or  not  ? 
What  is  meant  by  4 the  next  Sabbath  ’ ? 

When  was  the  next  time  of  assembling  ? 

Was  there  a ‘congregation’  left  in  the  synagogue  after 
4 the  Jews  were  gone  out’  ? 

What  is  a proselyte  ? 

What  advice  did  Paul  and  Barnabas  give  to  those  who 
followed  them  ? Why  ? 

What  is  meant  by  4 the  grace  of  God  ’ ? 

What  did  the  Apostles  probably  do  during  the  week  ? 
What  proves  that  they  were  not  idle  ? 

Did  the  multitude  who  came  together  4 to  hear  the  word 
of  God,’  come  intending  to  obey  it  ? 

Is  it  right  to  induce  people  to  come  to  church  from  other 
motives  than  to  obey  the  word  of  God  ? 

What  made  the  Jews  envious  ? 

Why  is  the  word  4 multitudes,’  and  not  multitude,  used  ? 
Why  should  the  Jews  have  been  glad  to  see  4 almost  the 
whole  city  ’ there  ? 

What  might  they  have  expected  or  hoped  ? 

What  did  they  ? why  ? 

What  is  the  extraordinary  thing  in  this  synagogue  ? 

Had  this  ever  been  done  before  ? 

What  led  Paul  to  think  that  such  a time  would  come  ? 
How  did  this  offer  differ  from  former  offers  to  Gentiles  ? 
Did  our  Saviour  ever  preach  to  Gentiles  ? 

Was  this  different  from  Peter’s  preaching  to  Cornelius  ? 

(21) 


{ELEVENTH  SUNDAY.) 


How  did  it  differ  from  Paul’s  preaching  to  Sergius  Paulus  ? 
Do  you  think  the  Gentiles  to  whom  this  offer  was  made 
were  proselytes,  or  not  ? 

Can  you  prove  that  Paul  was  the  Apostle  to  the  Gen- 
tiles ? 

What  sort  of  boldness  did  it  need  for  the  Apostle  to 
take  such  a position  ? 

Does  the  courage  now  needed  to  be  a Christian  differ 
from  it  ? 

How  does  Paul  show  he  is  right  in  turning  to  the  Gen- 
tiles ? 

Who  is  4 thee,’  in  the  forty-seventh  verse  ? 

What  does  4 ends  of  the  earth  ’ mean  ? 

From  what  prophet  is  this  quotation  made  ? 

What  other  bold  claim  did  the  Apostles  make  ? 

Did  this  conduct  in  the  synagogue  continue  to  he  an  ex- 
traordinary thing  with  the  Apostles  ? 

What  two  effects  were  produced  by  this  conduct  ? 

What  is  meant  by  4 glorified  the  word  of  the  Lord  ’ ? 
What  is  meant  by  4 ordained  to  eternal  life  ’ ? 

How  far  was  the  Gospel  preached  ? 

What  did  the  J ews  first  against  the  Apostles  ? 

What  more  did  they  determine  to  do  ? 

How  did  they  now  attempt  to  do  it  ? 

Through  what  two  classes  of  persons  ? 

What  was  often  true  of  women  in  Gentile  towns  ? 

What  three  classes  were  there,  to  one  of  which  it  is  sup- 
posed these  women  belonged  ? 

Which  one  of  the  three  did  they  belong  to  ? 

What  does  4 devout  * show  ? 

What  does  4 honorable  ’ show  ? 

What  was  the  result  of  the  persecution  ? 

Do  you  think  there  was  a formal  sentence  of  the  magis- 
trates ? 

What  is  meant  by  4 coasts  ’ ? 

(22) 


. Cfotlfflj  Smrbitir. 


FLIGHTS  FROM  CITY  TO  CITY. 


LESSON. 

Acts  xiii.  51,  52;  xiv.  1 -7. 

THIS  was  the  first  persecution  of  Paul  and  Barnabas 
since  they  began  their  missionary  journey.  And 
now,  thrust  out  of  Antioch  and  out  of  Pisidia,  they 
did  not  forget  the  words  of  their  divine  Master  to  the 
Twelve.1  As  a testimony  against  the  wicked  persecut- 
ors of  Antioch,  they  shook  off  the  very  dust  from  their 
feet  as  they  took  their  way  along  the  dry,  barren  road 
to  the  east.  “ It  was  taught  by  the  Scribes  that  the 
dust  of  a heathen  land  defiled  by  the  touch.  Hence, 
the  shaking  of  the  dust  off  the  feet  implied  the  city  was 
profane.”  And  one  of  greater  authority  than  the  Scribes 
had  taught  that  that  city  was  profane,  and  exposed  to 
condemnation  in  the  day  of  judgment,  which  persecuted 
his  servants  and  disciples. 

But  as  the  banished  missionaries  trod  the  4 sunburnt 
road  ’ up  the  mountain-side,  they  left  behind  them,  in  the 
city,  a company  of  men  filled  with  the  purest  joy.  The 
Gentiles  who  had  sincerely  believed  were  rejoicing  in 
their  new-found  faith : they  were  full  of  that  highest 
joy  which  the  human  heart  is  capable  of  receiving — the 
joy  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  They  had  lost  their  teachers ; 
they  were  in  the  midst  of  trial  and  persecution : but 
the  words  and  the  grace  of  Jesus  had  entered  their 
trusting  hearts,  and  they  could  only  rejoice. 


1 Matt.  x.  14,  15. 


78 


TWELFTH  SUNDAY.) 


After  the  Apostles  had  climbed  the  mountain-range 
east  of  Antioch,2  they  looked  down  on  a large  plain — 
the  largest,  it  is  said,  in  Asia  Minor.  As  they  de- 
scended the  other  slope  of  the  mountains*  on  the  west 
or  north-west  from  Iconium,  they  could  see,  in  the  far 
distance,  across  the  elevated  table-land  of  the  plain,  two 
bold,  high  mountains — Mount  Argseus,3  a hundred  and 
fifty  miles  away,  almost  in  the  east,  stretching  itself 
far  above  the  line  of  the  horizon,  and  Black  Mountain, 
a strange-looking  mass  of  rock  and  earth,  rising  from 
the  plain  c like  a lofty  island  from  the  surface  of  the 
ocean,’  a hundred  or  more  miles  distant  in  the  south- 
east, in  the  very  direction  of  Tarsus.  Coming  down 
the  heights,  they  could  probably  see  the  city  of  Ico- 
nium for  some  time  before  they  reached  it,  situated  as 
it  is,  far  out  in  the  plain.  If  they  struck  across  to  the 
road  from  Philomelium,  they  could  see  the  city  for 
twelve  or  fourteen  miles  of  their  journey. 

We  know  more  of  Iconium  since  the  time  of  Paul 
than  during  his  life.  It  has  become  a famous  place,  as 
the  city  in  which  the  great  Turkish  Empire  had  its  first 
beginnings.  The  town  still  remains,  with  its  walls 
built  of  broken  columns,  capitals,  pedestals,  and  other 
pieces  of  sculpture,  its  eighty  gates,  its  towers  with 
Arabic  inscriptions  : with  its  great  mosque,  c the  mina- 
ret reaching  to  the  stars with  its  colleges,  churches, 
public  baths,  its  fortified  palace,  its  carpet  and  colored- 
leather  manufactories  : with  its  massive  Arabic  archi- 
tecture and  famous  Mohammedan  tomb.  How  it  looked 
in  the  time  of  Paul  we  do  not  know.  We  can  think  of 
the  town  as  in  the  plain,  surrounded  almost  on  every 
side  by  mountains  covered  with  snow.  “ The  elements 

2 They  may  have  crossed  the  range  sooner  than  is  indicated  by  the 
line  on  the  map. 

8 See  map  of  Cilicia,  First  Sunday.  ^ 


FLIGHTS  FROM  CITY  TO  CITY. 


79 


of  its  population  would  be  as  follows  : a large  number 
of  trifling  and  frivolous  Greeks,  whose  principal  places 
of  resort  would  be  the  theatre  and  the  market-place ; 
some  remains  of  a still  older  population,  coming  in  oc- 
casionally from  the  country,  or  residing  in  a separate 
quarter  of  the  town  ; some  few  Roman  officials,  civil  or 
military,  holding  themselves  proudly  aloof  from  the 
inhabitants  of  a subjugated  province ; and  an  old  set- 
tlement of  Jews,  who  exercised  their  trade  during  the 
week,  and  met  on  the  Sabbath  to  read  the  law  in  the 
synagogue.” 

Into  the  synagogue  went  the  two  strangers,  as  they 
did  at  Antioch  : who,  though  persecuted  and  forced  to 
leave  their  work  in  Pisidia,  did  not  leave  their  success 
behind  them.  There  also  a great  multitude  of  Jews 
and  Greeks  (4  proselytes  or  heathen,  or  both  ’)  believed 
the  Gospel.  And  although  the  bitter  and  proud  Jews 
did  not  permit  the  believers  of  Iconium  to  have  peace, 
any  more  than  they  did  their  4 brethren 5 of  Antioch, 
they  did  not  succeed  in  driving  the  Apostles  away  at 
once.  Although  they  4 stirred  up ’ the  Gentiles,  4 the 
heathen,’  to  prejudice  and  ill-feeling,  yet  the  people  be- 
lieved the  doctrine,  and  the  Apostles  abode  there  4 long 
time.’  Here,  sixty  or  eighty  miles  from  their  late  en- 
emies, at  Antioch,  they  reasoned  with  the  Jews  out  of 
their  Scriptures.  They  gave  another  and  more  striking 
proof  of  their  authority  to  explain  the  word  of  God. 
They  did  miracles.  Who  could  now  fail  of  being  con- 
vinced of  the  right  and  truth  of  their  words  ? 

* We  suppose  Paul  and  Barnabas  were  in  Iconium 
some  months.  The  time  must  have  been  much  longer 
than  two  weeks , for  they  were  in  Antioch  of  Pisidia  as 
long  as  that  ;4  and  their  stay  in  Iconium  is  evidently 

4 As  they  went  into  the  synagogue  at  Antioch  on  the  Sabbath-day, 
(Saturday,)  they  must  have  reached  the  city  on  Friday  at  least ; and 


80 


(: TWELFTH  SUNDAY.) 


compared  with  their  stay  in  preceding  places.  ‘Long 
time  abode  they,’  it  is  said,  just  after  the  description 
of  their  stay  in  Antioch.  The  time  must  have  been 
shorter  than  a year  ; for  the  same  narrative  which  de- 
clares that  they  spent  4 a whole  year 5 in  Antioch  in 
Syria,6  and  that  Paul  spent  4 a year  and  six  months  5 in 
Corinth,6  and  4 dwelt  two  whole  years  in  his  own  hired 
house 5 in  Rome,7  would  not  have  failed  to  note  here  a 
time  so  long.  44  There  is  a tradition  of  certain  events 
said  to  have  occurred  while  the  Apostles  were  in  Ico- 
nium ; and  we  may  safely  adopt  so  much  of  the  story 
as  to  imagine  Paul  preaching  long  and  late  to  crowded 
congregations,  as  he  did  afterwards  at  Troas  ;8  his  en- 
emies bringing  him  before  the  civil  authorities,  with 
the  cry  that  he  was  disturbing  their  households  by  his 
sorcery,  or  with  complaints  that  he  was  4 exceedingly 
troubling  the  city.5  55  No  doubt,  also,  the  Apostles 
preached  the  word  from  house  to  house,  4 opening  and 
alleging  that  this  is  the  very  Christ.5  And  notwith- 
standing all  the  opposition,  they  had  their  good  reward 
for  4 weariness 5 and  4 perils 5 in  the  4 great  multitude 5 of 

X O 

converts. 

During  these  months  the  whole  city  became  divided 
into  two  great  parties,  (“  a common  occurrence  on  far 
less  important  occasions,  in  these  cities  of  Oriental 
Greeks  :”)  one  party  holding  that  they  were  good  and 
true  men,  preaching  with  sincerity  and  by  God’s  com- 
mand : the  other,  that  their  preaching  and  doctrine 
were  pretension  and  falsehood,  and  perhaps  also  that 
their  miracles  were  mere  magic  or  deception,  like  the 

they  did  not  leave  the  city  till  after  the  ‘ next  Sabbath-day  ’ — not  at 
least  till  Sunday  or  Monday.  This  would  make  from  nine  to  eleven 
days.  There  was  probably  considerably  more  time  consumed  after 
the  second  Sabbath  in  ‘ stirring  up  ’ the  women  and  chief  men. 

8 Acts  xi.  26.  6 xviii.  11.  7 xxviii.  30.  8 xx.  7-11. 


FLIGHTS  FROM  CITY  TO  CITY 


81 


works  of  all  sorcerers.  “ But  here,  as  at  Antioch,  the 
influential  classes  were  on  the  side  of  the  Jews.  A 
determined  attempt,”  which  had  no  doubt  been  gather- 
ing force  from  month  to  month,  “ was  at  last  made  to 
crush  the  Apostles,  by  loading  them  with  insult,  and 
actually  stoning  them  to  death.”  When  the  actual  as- 
sault was  about  to  be  made,  the  disciples  in  some  way 
discovered  it  in  time  to  flee  to  some  of  the  smaller 
towns  or  villages. 

We  must  not  think  that  because  it  is  said  Lystra  and 
Derbe  were  6 cities  of  Lycaonia,’  it  is  meant  that  the 
Apostles  passed  now  out  of  one  province  into  another. 
Iconium  was  the  capital  of  Lycaonia.  The  great  plain 
on  which  the  Apostles  looked  down  from  the  moun- 
tains comprised  a large  part  of  the  province  of  Ly- 
caonia. “ It  was  a bare  and  dreary  region,  unwatered 
by  streams,  though  in  parts  liable  to  occasional  floods.” 
Lystra  and  Derbe  were  small  and  retired  places,  little 
known.  The  writer,  in  calling  them  c cities  of  Ly- 
caonia,’ only  intends  to  fix  their  situation.  They  were 
perhaps  small  towns,  “ with  a rude  dialect  and  simple 
superstition,”  off  on  the  boundaries  of  the  province, 
where  the  customs  of  the  people  did  not  change,  as  in 
the  great  cities,  and  “ where  Greek,  though  certainly 
understood,  was  not  commonly  spoken.”  The  exact 
sites  of  these  cities  are  not  known,  but  it  is  supposed 
they  were  at  the  foot  of  Black  Mountain.  The  flight 
from  Iconium  was  therefore  towards  the  south-east,  to- 
wards the  huge,  dark  pile  which,  standing  out  in  the 
plain,  looks  so  much  like  a high  c island  in  the  midst 
of  the  sea.’  Perhaps,  however,  they  did  not  go  directly 
to  Lystra,  for  they  preached  also  in  the  c region  round 
about.’  This  must  have  occurred  before  the  events  at 
Lystra  took  place ; for  when  they  left  Lystra,  they 
went  directly  to  Derbe ; and  when  they  left  Derbe, 


82 


(: TWELFTH  SUNDAY.) 


they  return  ed  at  once,  it  would  seem,  to  Lystra  and  to 
Iconium.  It  may  have  been  that  the  peril  was  so  great 
that  they  did  not  venture  to  preach  at  once  in  these 
cities,  but  were  for  a while  in  some  of  the  still  more 
obscure  settlements  under  the  shadow  of  the  great 
mountain.  Whether  they  first  preached  in  “ the  region 
round  about,”  or  went  out  from  Lystra  into  the  sur- 
rounding country,  a most  important  event  occurred  in 
Lystra.  It  is  to  be  noticed  that  there  is  no  mention  of 
any  synagogue  in  this  city.  Nothing  is  said  of  any 
Jews,  except  those  who  came  from  Iconium.  We 
shall  see  afterwards  that  there  were  in  the  town  at 
least  two  or  three  Jews. 

“ We  are  now  instantly  brought  into  contact  with 
Heathen  superstition  and  mythology ; yet  not  the  su- 
perstition of  an  educated  mind,  as  that  of  Sergius 
Paulus,  nor  the  mythology  of  the  refined  and  cultivated 
Athenians,  but  the  mythology  of  a rude  and  illiterate 
people.  Thus  does  the  Gospel,  in  the  person  of  Paul, 
clash  with  opposing  powers,”  one  after  the  other : with 
the  crafty  sorcerer,  the  Roman  official,  the  bitter  J ew, 
the  cruel  magistrate,  and  now  with  false  divinities. 


( TWELFTH  SUNDAY.) 


QUESTIONS. 

YWHAT  does  shaking  the  dust  off  the  feet  signify  ? 

* ’ What  difference  was  there  in  the  teaching  of  the  Saviour 
and  of  the  Scribes  in  respect  to  this  ? 

Does  1 the  disciples  ’ mean  Paul  and  Barnabas  ? 

What  can  give  the  highest  joy  in  the  bitterest  perscu- 
tion? 

Are  sacred  and  holy  things  gloomy  or  joyful  ? 

Does  the  Holy  Spirit  design  to  make  men  sad  or  gloomy  ? 
Is  it  religion  or  the  want  of  it  which  makes  many  pro- 
fessing Christians  gloomy  and  doleful  ? 

What  kind  of  a country  did  the  Apostles  now  enter  ? 

How  was  Iconium  situated  ? 

How  has  the  city  since  become  famous  ? 

What  was  the  mixture  of  population  in  Paul’s  time  ? 
Where  did  the  Apostles  go  in  this  town  ? 

What  success  did  their  preaching  have  here  ? 

When  it  is  said  they  ‘ so  spake,’  etc.,  do  you  think  any- 
thing peculiar  in  their  preaching  in  this  town  is 
meant  ? 

Were  these  Greeks  4 proselytes  ’ ? 

What  was  the  result  of  the  persecution  at  first  ? 

How  far  were  they  from  Antioch  in  Pisidia  ? 

What  did  they  besides  argue  from  the  Scriptures  ? 

How  long  were  they  in  Iconium  ? How  do  you  prove  it  ? 
How  long  do  you  think  they  were  in  Antioch  of  Pisidia  ? 
What  tradition  is  there  in  respect  to  Paul  in  Iconium  ? 
What  does  1 word  of  his  grace  ’ mean  ? 

What  else  did  they  ? 

What  did  this  4 testimony  ’ prove  ? 

Were  all  who  heard  and  saw  convinced  ? 

What  happened  during  this  time  ? 

What  did  the  two  parties  probably  claim  in  respect  to 
him? 

What  was  true  of  such  divisions  in  Oriental  cities  ? 
(23) 


( TWELFTH  SUNDAY.) 

Were  all  who  took  Paul’s  side  Christians  ? 

What  is  meant  by  the  Gospel  ? 

What  did  the  persecutors  determine  to  do  ? 

What  two  parties  united  in  this  persecution  ? 

Whose  rulers  are  1 their  rulers  ’ ? 

Was  stoning  a Jewish  or  a Gentile  punishment  ? 

To  what  kind  of  a place  did  they  flee  ? 

In  what  direction  ? 

Did  they  pass  out  of  the  province  in  which  Iconium  was  ? 
What  was  Iconium  in  respect  to  the  province  ? 

Why  are  these  called  4 cities  of  Lycaonia  ’ ? 

What  kind  of  country  was  Lycaonia  ? 

Where  were  Lystra  and  Derbe  ? 

Did  they  preach  the  Gospel  anywhere  else  than  in  these 
places  ? 

Was  this  preaching  before  or  after  they  entered  Lystra? 
In  what  kind  of  places  was  this  preaching  ? 

Can  you  think  of  any  other  religion  than  one,  which 
teaches  us  to  go  as  willingly  to  the  obscure  and 
the  poor  as  to  the  influential  and  the  rich  ? 

How  does  true  piety  in  the  heart  make  men  feel  in  re- 
spect to  poor  and  rich  ? 

What  sort  of  people  were  the  Lystrians  ? 

Were  there  Jews  among  them  ? 

How  .did  the  superstition  of  the  Lystrians  differ  from 
that  of  others  ? 

What  kinds  of  people  had  the  Gospel  now  come  in  con- 
flict with  ? 

What  opposite  effects  had  been  produced  ? 

Does  the  Gospel  always  produce  some  effect  when  it  is 
faithfully  preached  ? 

(24) 


Cljirfmdlj  unban. 


JUPITER  AND  MERCURY. 


LESSON. 

Acts  xiv.  8-20. 

• 

4;  TT  was  a common  belief  among  the  ancients  that 

J-  the  gods  visited  the  earth  in  the  form  of  men. 
Such  a belief  Avith  regard  to  Jupiter,  c the  father  of 
gods  and  men,’  Avould  be  natural  in  any  rural  district, 
and  noAvhere  more  than  in  Lystra ; for  Lystra,  as  ap- 
pears from  the  description  given,1  Avas  under  the  espe- 
cial protection  of  Jupiter,  and  the  divinities  were  im- 
agined to  haunt  the  cities  under  their  protection.  The 
temple  or  the  statue  of  Jupiter  was  a conspicuous  ob- 
ject in  front  of  the  city  gates  : Avhat  wonder  Avas  it, 
therefore,  if  the  citizens  of  Lystra  should  be  prone  to 
believe  that  their  c Jupiter  Avhich  AAras  before  the  city’ 
Avould  Avillingly  visit  his  favorite  people  ?”  Mercury 
Avas  the  messenger  and  herald  of  the  gods,  especially 
of  J upiter,  and  hence  was  naturally  thought  to  attend 
Jupiter  on  his  expeditions.  The  Lycaonians,  especially 
in  the  region  of  Lystra,  Avould  quickly  believe  any  story 
of  these  tAVo  divinities  appearing  together,  if  a miracle 
had  been  wrought,  such  as  this  Avhich  Luke  records. 

“We  suppose  that  Paul  gathered  groups  of  Lystrians 
about  him,  and  addressed  them”  in  the  open  squares  of 
the  city,  or  other  places  of  public  resort,  as  a modern 

1 1 Which,’  in  the  thirteenth  verse,  relates  to  ‘ Jupiter,’  and  not  to 
1 priest,’  as  the  Greek  clearly  shows.  It  was  Jupiter  whose  image  or 
temple  was  before  the  city,  and  so  was  its  protection. 


S4 


( THIRTEENTH  SUNDAY.) 


missionary  might  address  the  natives  of  a Hindoo  vil- 
lage. Although  the  4 speech  of  Lycaonia  ’ was  a rough, 
rude  dialect  of  Greek,  like  some  broken  accent  or 
4 brogue 5 in  respect  to  our  own  English,  or  the  obscure 
remnant  of  some  older  language,  yet  the  people  would 
understand  Paul  when  he  spoke  to  them  in  Greek. 

As  Paul  was  preaching  one  day,  he  saw  seated  on  the 
ground  a helpless  cripple,  weak  in  his  feet,  who  had 
never  walked,  earnestly  listening  to  his  words.  Paul 
saw  at  once  more  than  his  deformity  and  helplessness. 
He  4 steadfastly  beheld'  him.  (and  these  words  in  the 
Greek  are  peculiarly  forcible : they  mean,  he  looked 
with  a sharp,  piercing  gaze,  as  the  gaze  of  one  stretch- 
ing forward  to  look  intently.)  By  the  power  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  he  was  able  to  penetrate  the  very  secrets 
of  the  cripple’s  soul : he  saw  that  4 he  had  faith  to  be 
saved’2  from  the  disease  of  his  body,  if  not  from  the 
spiritual  disease  of  his  soul.  As  Peter,  4 fastening  his 
eyes  upon’  that  other  cripple  at  the  Beautiful  gate  of  the 
Temple,3  said  to  him,  4 In  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ  of 
Nazareth,  rise  up  and  walk,’  so  Paul  to  this  heathen 
cripple  in  his  idolatrous  audience  at  Lystra : 4 Stand 
upright  on  thy  feet.’  God’s  power  instantly  met  human 
faith,  and  wrought  a mighty  change.  44  The  lame  man 
sprang  up  in  the  joyful  consciousness  of  a power  he 
had  never  felt  before,  and  walked  like  one  who  had 
never  been  infirm.”  Notice  the  combination  of  results 
in  the  miracle  : strength  in  place  of  weakness  ; sound- 
ness and  straightness  instead  of  disease  and  deformity ; 
the  art  of  walking,  of  balancing  and  moving  at  the 
same  time,  by  one  who  had  never  learned. 

1 Faith  to  be  healed .’  The  Greek  word  is,  * to  be  saved.''  It  may 
be  in  the  sense  of  ‘ to  be  saved  * from  disease,  that  is,  to  be  healed, 
or  it  may  be  to  be  saved  from  sin. 

8 Acts  iii.  1-4,  etc. 


JUPITER  AND  MERCURY. 


85 


“And  now  arose  a great  tumult  of  voices  from  the 
crowd.  Such  a cure  of  such  a disease,  so  sudden  and 
complete,  would  have  confounded  the  most  skilful  phy- 
sicians.” The  people,  filled  with  astonishment,  at  once 
concluded  that  the  divinities  were  come.  They  cried 
out  in  their  mother-tongue  that  Jupiter  and  Mercury, 
in  the  form  of  men,  were  again  in  Lycaonia.  Paul  was 
the  i chief  speaker.’  They  took  him,  therefore,  for  Mer- 
cury, the  god  of  eloquence.  Barnabas  must  be  Jupi- 
ter, because  Jupiter  and  Mercury  always  were  com- 
panions in  their  earthly  appearances,  u though  we  may 
well  believe  that  there  was  something  majestically  be- 
nignant in  the  appearance  of  Barnabas,  while  the  per 
sonal  aspect  of  Paul  was  the  rather  insignificant.  It 
is  also  possible  that  Barnabas  was  older,  and  there- 
fore more  venerable  in  appearance  than  Paul.” 

The  news  of  a miracle,  and  that  the  gods  had  done 
it,  spread  quickly  through  the  small  town.  The  gods 
had  come  again ! They  had  cured  the  cripple,  lame 
from  birth  ! All  the  people  were  excited  and  in  tumult. 
How  should  they  honor  the  heavenly  visitors  ! The 
priest  of  Jupiter’s  temple  at  the  city  gates  was  called 
to  sacrifice  to  his  god.  The  priest  and  his  attendants, 
wearing  garlands  of  leaves  and  flowers  on  their  heads, 
and  bearing  them  in  their  hands,  brought  oxen  to  make 
sacrifice ; and  a “ procession  moved  amidst  crowds  of 
people  to  the  house  in  which  the  Apostles  were.”  By 
some  persons,  ‘gates  ’ has  been  supposed  to  mean  4 the 
gates  of  the  city  which  the  excited  people  hung  with 
garlands  in  idolatrous  honor  of  Paul  and  Barnabas 
within by  others,  the  gates  or  doors  of  the  house, 
opening  from  the  street  into  the  hall  which  led  to  the 
inner  court,  the  reception-room  or  sitting-room  of  the 
house. 

The  Apostles  were  horror-stricken,  when  they  knew 


.86 


(: THIRTEENTH  SUNDA  Y.) 


what  the  people  were  doing.  Rending  their  clothes 
and  rushing  out  among  the  people,  they  opposed  the 
people,  and  expressed  their  abhorrence  of  what  they 
were  going  to  do.  It  may  be  that  Luke  has  preserved 
only  the  short  outline  of  Paul’s  speech. 

Notice  the  argument  : 

I.  We  are  not  gods,  but  men  with  feelings  like  yours. 

II.  Worship  of  such  gods  is  wrong,  as  we  have 
preached  to  you : these  gods  are  mere  vanities,  mere 
nothings  : we  declare  to  you  one  Living  God. 

III.  This  one  God,  and  not  your  4 vanities,’  made  all 
things  : the  heavens  above,  the  earth  beneath,  all  things 

IV.  In  ancient  times  some  excuse  might  possibly 
have  been  offered ; for  having  no  such  light  as  the 
J ews,  the  Gentiles  everywhere  walked  in  their  own 
ways. 

V.  But  there  is  no  excuse  now,  as  there  was  really 
no  excuse  then  ; for  rain  from  heaven,  and  the  seasons 
which  bring  us  fruit,  and  all  the  wonderful  manner  in 
which  the  earth  and  the  heavens  are  made,  show  one 
God  Alone,  whom  alone  we  ought  to  worship. 

How  coldly  this  address  of  Paul  fell  on  that  ignorant, 
superstitious  people,  eager  to  offer  oxen  and  garlands  in 
sacrifice  to  men  like  themselves.  The  natural  religion 
of  poetry  and  of  imagination  they  liked,  but  the  wor- 
ship of  One  Jehovah  only,  they  did  not  like.  The  crowd 
were  4 scarce  restrained  ’ from  worshipping  mortals  like 
themselves.  They  slowly  led  away  the  victims. 

But  instead  of  gratitude  that  the  lame  man  had  been 
healed  in  their  city,  we  now  find  a very  great  and  sur- 
prising change  of  feeling.  Excited  in  one  direction, 
they  were  soon  excited  in  another,  as  Avere  the  Jews  at 
Jerusalem,  when  one  day  they  cried,  4 Hosanna,’  and 
the  next  day,  4 Crucify  him.’  44  The  Lycaonians  were 


JUPITER  AND  MERCURY. 


87 


proverbially  fickle  and  faithless.”  Some  of  the  hostile 
Jews  from  Iconium  had  come  to  Lystra  on  some  er- 
rand ; perhaps  on  purpose  to  persecute  the  Apostles. 
“ When  they  heard  of  the  miracles  worked  on  the  lame, 
man,  and  found  how  great  an  effect  it  had  produced  on 
the  people  of  Lystra,  they  would  be  ready  with  a new 
interpretation  of  the  occurrence.”  And  just  as  at 
Jerusalem  the  Jews  said  that  Jesus  4 cast  out  devils 
by  Beelzebub,  the  prince  of  devils,’  so  might  they  say 
that  this  miracle  was  44  not  by  Divine  agency,  but  by 
some  diabolical  magic.  This  is  probably  the  true  in- 
terpretation of  that  sudden  change  of  feeling  among 
the  Lystrians,  which  at  first  sight  seems  very  surpris- 
ing.” They  first  declared  these  miracle-workers  gods  : 
the  miracle-workers  themselves  denied  that  they  were 
gods : the  Jews  said  that  it  was  sorcery,  magic,  the 
work  of  devils  and  of  Beelzebub  : excited  and  ignorant 
and  easily  duped,  they  not  only  believed  it,  but  suffered 
themselves  to  be  led  on  to  persecution  and  to  murder. 
In  the  very  streets  the  mob  stoned  Paul,  then  bar- 
barously dragged  him  out  of  the  gate,  and  cast  him  out 
as  dead.  Their  superstitious  change  was  as  sudden  as 
that  of  the  4 barbarous  people  ’ afterwards  at  Malta, 
who  first  thought  Paul  a murderer,  and  then  a god.4 
The  Apostle  mentions  this  stoning  in  his  catalogue  of 
his  sufferings.5  Both  at  Lystra  and  when  he  wrote  to 
the  Corinthians  he  must  have  thought  of  the  stoning  of 
Stephen.  And  as  Stephen’s  death  only  increased  the 
number  of  disciples,  so  does  the  stoning  of  Paul  only 
bring  into  sight  others  who  believed  on  Jesus,  and  one 
who  was  afterwards  fellow-apostle  and  fellow-mission- 
ary with  Paul.  ‘Disciples  stood  round  about  him,’ 
when  he  lay  as  dead,  when  he  recovered  from  the  swoon 
and  rose  up. 

4 Acts  xxviii.  4-6.  5 II,  Corinth,  xi.  25. 


88 


(: THIRTEENTH  SUNDAY.) 


Among  these  disciples  of  Lystra,  we  have  reason  to 
believe,  was  Timothy.  His  mother  was  a Jewess,  his 
father  a Greek ; and  about  two  years  later,  when  Paul 
came  to  Lystra  again,  he  found  Timothy  already  a 
Christian,  and  c well  reported  of  by  the  brethren.’5  In 
one  of  his  letters  afterwards  to  Timothy,  Paul  reminds 
Timothy  of  his  knowledge  of  his  own  persecution  c at 
Antioch , at  Iconium,  at  Lystra?1  “ We  have  thus  the 
strongest  reasons  for  believing  that  Timothy  was  wit- 
ness of  Paul’s  injurious  treatment,  and  this  too  at  a 
time  of  life  when  the  mind  receives  its  deepest  impres- 
sions from  the  spectacle  of  innocent  suffering  and  un- 
daunted courage.  And  it  is  far  from  impossible  that 
the  generous  and  warm-hearted  youth  was  standing  in 
that  group  of  disciples,  who  surrounded  the  apparently 
lifeless  body  of  the  Apostle,  outside  the  walls  of  Lys- 
tra.” His  mother  Eunice,  and  his  grandmother  Lois, 
probably  dwelt  there,9  so  that  there  were  in  Lystra  al 
least  three  Jews  when  Paul  came.  Educated  in  the 
study  of  the  sacred  Scriptures  by  his  mother  and  grand- 
mother,10 he  was  ready  to  receive  "the  Gospel  when  it 
came  to  him.  It  was  not  without  a divine  purpose, 
therefore,  that  Paul  was  permitted  to  be  persecuted  at 
Iconium,  and  that  he  fled  to  Lystra  to  suffer  anew ; for 
here  it  is  that  he  finds  a convert  who  is  to  be  another 
faithful  preacher  of  the  Gospel. 

“ Derbe  is  somewhere  not  far  from  the  Black  Moun- 
tain.” In  a few  hours  he  would  come  to  that  place. 
He  probably  had  no  persecution  in  this  town  ; for  when 
he  writes  to  Timothy  that  he  was  witness  of  his  suffer 
ing  ‘ at  Antioch,  at  Iconium,  at  Lystra, ’ he  does  not 
mention  Derbe.  “ It  may  have  been  a quiet  resting- 


6 Acts  xvi.  1. 
8 IT.  Tim.  i.  5. 


7 II.  Tim.  iii.  10,  11. 

9 Acts  xvi.  1-3.  10 II.  Tim.  iii.  15. 


JUPITER  AND  MERCURY. 


89 


place  after  a long  journey  full  of  toil  and  danger.” 
Here  Paul  recovered  his  strength  after  the  stoning ; 
here  he  gained  new  vigor  after  his  weariness  ; but  here 
also  he  was  still  preaching  the  Gospel,  for  here  he 
made  many  disciples.11 


11  Margin  of  21st  verse. 


c THIRTEENTH  SUNDAY,) 


QUESTIONS. 


T1THAT  especial  reason  is  there  why  the  Lystrians  would  cx- 
" * pect  the  gods  to  yisit  them  ? 

What  is  meant  by  4 Jupiter  which  was  before  the  city’  ? 
Who  was  Jupiter  ? Who  was  Mercury  ? 

Where  did  Paul  speak  in  Lystra  ? 

What  language  did  he  speak  ? 

What  was  the  4 speech  of  Lycaonia  ’ ? 

What  hearer  was  there  in  one  of  Paul’s  audiences  ? 

What  does  4 impotent  ’ mean  ? 

How  long  had  he  been  a cripple  ? 

What  does  4 steadfastly  beholding  ’ mean  ? 

What,  besides  his  lameness,  did  Paul  see  ? 

How  could  Paul  4 perceive  ’ faith  ? 

What  other  miracle  does  this  miracle  resemble  *? 

How  many  points  of  resemblance  can  you  trace  ? 

What  two  things  united  to  make  this  mighty  change  ? 
Are  there  any  other  than  these  two  things  necessary  in 
the  conversion  of  a soul  ? 

Are  they  exercised  differently  from  what  they  were  in 
this  cripple’s  case  ? 

How  many  results  of  this  miracle  can  you  mention  ? 
What  did  the  cripple’s  leaping  show  ? 

What  effect  did  this  miracle  have  on  the  assembly  ? 

Why  did  they  call  Paul,  Mercury  ? 

Why  Barnabas,  Jupiter  ? What  suppositions  can  you 
make  ? 

What  was  now  proposed  ? 

Whom  did  they  call  for  ? 

What  does  4 gates  ’ mean  ? 

Why  had  not  the  Apostles  prevented  this  procession  before  t 
Why  did  they  rend  their  clothes  ? 

How  do  you  know  that  Paul,  and  not  Barnabas,  spoke  ? 
What  was  the  first  point  in  the  argument  ? 

What  does  4 of  like  passions  ’ mean  ? 

(25) 


( THIRTEENTH  SUNDAY.) 


What  was  the  second  point  ? 

What  does  4 vanities  ’ mean  ? 

What  was  the  third  point  ? 

What  was  the  fourth  point  ? 

Do  you  suppose  ‘all  nations’  includes  the  Jews  ? 

Does  God  ever  excuse  sin  ? 

What  is  the  fifth  point  in  the  address  ? 

What  is  meant  by  ‘ left  not  himself  without  witness  ’ ? 
Does  God  wish  to  have  us  ‘ filled  with  gladness  ’ ? 

What  is  there  especially  in  rain  and  fruit  and  the  seasons 
which  shows  this  ? 

What  is  the  whole  argument  designed  to  prove  ? 

What  was  the  effect  of  Paul’s  speech  on  the  peopled 
What  was  this  sacrifice  intended  to  express  ? 

Was  it  in  any  way  a sacrifice  for  sin  ? 

Do  men  naturally  like  natural  religion  ? Why  ? 

Do  men  naturally  like  to  practise  the  Christian  religion  ? 
Why? 

What  other  interpretation  might  have  been  given  of  the 
miracle  ? 

Do  you  think  it  was  given  by  these  Jews  ? 

Had  the  Jews  in  Palestine  ever  so  explained  miracles  ? 
What  were  the  Lycaonians  proverbial  for  ? 

Did  they  actually  stone  Paul  to  death  f 
Why  didn’t  they  stone  Barnabas  ? 

What  change  as  sudden  as  this  in  the  minds  of  two  dif- 
ferent peoples  at  two  different  times  ? 

When  Paul  ‘ rose  up,’  was  there  a miracle  ? 

Who  were  these  4 disciples  ’ ? Lystrians  or  others  ? 
What  fellow-laborer  afterwards  joined  Paul  at  Lystra  ? 
What  reason  have  we  to  believe  that  he  was  among 
these  4 disciples  ’ ? 

Do  you  think  the  evidence  sufficient  ? 

What  do  you  know  of  Derbe  ? 

What  did  Paul  there  ? 

What  was  the  result  ? 

(26) 


Jmxrtctnffy  Stmbajr* 


THE  JOURNEY  HOME. 


LESSON. 

Acts  xiy.  21-27. 

DERBE  is  the  end  of  Paul’s  first  missionary  journey. 

He  was  now  not  very  far  from  his  own  home  at 
Tarsus.  Derbe  could  not  have  been  further  from  the 
celebrated  pass  through  the  mountains 1 down  to  Tar- 
sus, than  from  Iconium.  He  was  at  the  one  foot  of  that 
mountain-range,  at  the  other  foot  of  which  lay  his  na- 
tive province.  The  journey  of  a day  or  two  would  have 
probably  taken  him  into  Cilicia.  “ But  his  thoughts 
did  not  centre  in  his  earthly  home.”  He  thought  of 
his  converts  in  the  different  places  through  which  he 
had  come  : how  exposed  they  were  to  persecution  and 
to  doubts  of  the  truth,  and  to  trouble  from  the  argu- 
ments of  the  Jews ; how  much  they  needed  strengthen- 
ing in  the  faith,  the  comfort  of  his  presence,  and  his 
words  ; and  especially  how  they  needed  to  be  formed 
into  organized  and  fixed  churches  for  their  mutual 
strength  and  protection.  And  so,  after  staying  in  Derbe 
long  enough  perhaps  to  recover  Paul’s  strength,  and  for 
the  persecuting  spirit  in  Lystra  to  subside,  Paul  and 
Barnabas  turned  their  steps  back  upon  the  road  which 
they  came.  At  Lystra,  Timothy  may  have  been  one 
who  helped  make  up  the  church ; for  there,  as  well  as 

1 The  famous  ‘ Cilician  Gates,’  a narrow  mountain-pass,  through 
which  many  an  ancient  army  marched  on  the  route  from  west  to  east, 
and  from  east  to  west*  See  the  map  of  Cilicia,  First  Sunday. 


THE  JO  URNEY  HOME . 


91 


in  Antioch  and  Iconium,  it  would  seem  that  a church 
was  formed.  Undaunted  by  danger,  by  their  own  bold 
example  they  encouraged  the  disciples,  even  when  they 
told  them  that  they  could  only  be  disciples  of  Jesus  by 
passing  through  great  suffering  and  affliction.*  What 
undoubting  confidence  must  these  good  men  have  had 
in  their  religion,  when  they  “ ventured  to  address  to 
their  earliest  converts  such  words  of  encouragement  as 
these : 4 We  can  only  enter  the  kingdom  of  God  by 
passing  through  much  tribulation.’  ” In  ordaining 
c elders  in  every  church,’  they  followed  the  example  of 
the  churches  in  Judea,  which  had  their  elders  distinct 
from  the  Jewish  elders.2  Jewish  elders  had  existed 
since  the  time  of  Moses.3  This  is  the  second  time  when 
the  elders  of  the  Christian  Church  are  spoken  of,  the 
first  being  when  the  elders  of  Jerusalem  are  mentioned. 
They  are  frequently  mentioned  afterwards..4  Paul  him- 
self writes  to  Titus  to  ordain  elders.6 

The  Apostles  must  have  remained  in  each  place  a day 
or  more,  and  very  likely  several  days  ; for  there  must 
have  been  in  each  place  a time  appointed  for  fasting, 
and  time  for  its  observance.  On  their  journey  home, 
probably  they  did  not  preach  publicly  in  the  towns,  for 
that  would  only  have  kindled  at  once  the  fury  of  perse- 
cutors, and  put  the  brethren  in  greater  peril.  The 
brethren  themselves  would  now  preach  in  their  own 
cities ; and  besides,  it  would  be  natural  for  Paul  to 
think,  even  as  soon  as  this,  of  making  a Second  journey 
to  these  churches,  as  he  afterwards  did.  The  stay  of 


2 xi.  30. 

3 Numbers  xi.  16,  17.  Deuteronomy  xix.  12;  xxi.  2-6;  xxxi.  9. 
I.  Sam.  xxx.  26.  I.  Chronicles  xxi.  16.  Ezra  v.  5 ; vi.  14.  Matt, 
xv.  2 ; xxviii.  12.  Acts  iv.  5 ; vi.  12. 


92 


( FOURTEENTH  SUNDAY.) 


the  Apostles  in  these  cities  was  therefore  quite  different 
from  what  it  was  on  their  way  out.  Then  it  was  most 
public,  the  whole  city  of  Antioch  flocking  to  the  syna- 
gogue, the  whole  city  of  Iconium  divided  into  parties 
in  respect  to  them,  the  whole  city  of  Lystra  hailing 
them  first  as  gods,  and  then  mobbing  them.  Now  the 
visit  must  have  been  quite  private : they  gathered 
around  them  a few  disciples  in  some  private  house,  and 
with  devout  and  solemn  rites,  organized  the  church  of 
God  in  the  place. 

How  differently,  too,  would  the  Apostles  approach 
the  various  places  from  what  they  did  before.  As  they 
came  across  the  great  plain  from  the  south  towards 
Iconium,  they  would  look  on  the  city  before  them,  and 
think  sorrowfully  of  the  wickedness  and  cruelty  which 
they  had  seen  and  felt  both  there  and  in  Lystra ; and 
joyfully  and  thankfully  would  they  think  of  what  they 
had  been  permitted  to  accomplish.  As  they  climbed 
again  the  mountains  towards  Pisidia,  they  would  rejoice 
that  now  in  Iconium  and  Lystra,  churches  were  founded 
in  spite  of  persecution.  As  they  saw  again  in  the  dis- 
tance Antioch,  what  pure  pleasure  filled  their  hearts  in 
anticipation  of  meeting  the  converts  whom,  months  be- 
fore, they  left,  ‘filled  with  joy  and  v ith  the  Holy  Ghost.’ 
Welcomed  again  by  these  dear  converts,  they  soon 
learned  their  state  and  the  attitude  of  the  Jews  at  the 
synagogue.  Giving  them  instruction  in  respect  to  any 
difficult  questions  which  might  have  arisen,  ‘ confirming 
their  souls,’  4 exhorting  them  to  continue  in  the  faith,’ 
4 ordaining  them  elders,’  and  rejoicing  again  and  again 
that  they  had  offered  the  Gospel  to  the  Gentiles  in  the 
synagogue,  they  took  their  perilous  way  again  down 
through  the  mountains,  past  lake  and  torrent  and  river 
and  robber-haunts,  to  the  plain  of  Pamphylia.  44  Iffour 
conjecture  is  correct,  that  they  went  up  from  Perga  in 
the  spring,  and  returned  at  the  close  of  autumn,  and 


THE  JOURNEY  HOME. . 


93 


spent  all  the  hotter  months  of  the  year  in  the  elevated 
districts,  they  would  again  pass  in  a few  days  through 
a great  change  of  seasons,  and  almost  from  summer  to 
winter.  The  people  of  Pamphylia  would  have  returned' 
from  their  cold  residences,  to  the  warm  shelter  of  the 
plain  by  the  sea-side ; and  Perga  would  be  full  of  in- 
habitants.” This  may  be  the  reason  why 'Paul  and 
Barnabas  now  stopped  to  preach  in  Perga.  “ We  read 
neither  of  conversions  nor  of  persecutions  here.  The 
Jews,  if  any  Jews  resided  here,  were  less  inquisitive 
and  less  tyrannical  than  those  at  Antioch  and  Iconium ; 
and  the  votaries  of  4 Diana  before  the  city  ’ at  Perga,6 
were  less  excitable  than  those  who  worshipped  c Jupi- 
ter before  the  city 5 at  Lystra.  And  when  the  time 
came  for  returning  to  Syria,  they  did  not  sail  down  the 
Oestrus,  but  travelled  across  the  plain  to  Attalia,  on 
the  edge  of  the  Pamphylian  gulf.”  This  was  the  city, 
at  the  innermost  point  of  the  bay,  towards  which  they 
sailed  on  their  way  from  Cyprus  to  Perga,  a city  which, 
from  that  time  to  this,  has  existed  and  flourished,  and 
retained  its  name.7  From  this  city,  centuries  after,  the 
two  great  armies  of  the  Crusaders,  having  come  down 
to  the  coast,  through  parts  of  the  same  districts  over 
which  Paul  and  Barnabas  travelled,  embarked,  like 
them,  for  Antioch  in  Syria.  “ Behind  the  town  is  the 
plain  through  which  the  waters  of  the  Catarrhactes 
flow,  perpetually  constructing  and  destroying  and  re- 
constructing their  fantastic  channels.  In  front  of  it, 
and  along  the  shore,  are  long  lines  of^cliffs,  over  which 
the  river  finds  its  way  in  waterfalls  to  the  sea,  and 
which  conceal  the  plain  from  those  who  look  towards 
the  land  from  the  inner  waters  of  the  bay,  and  even  en- 
croach on  the  prospect  of  the  mountains  themselves.” 

0 See  page  59. 

7 On  our  modern  maps,  in  the  Turkish  province  of  Anad  ilia,  you 
may  still  see  the  name  of  Adalia. 


94 


(. FOURTEENTH  SUNDAY.) 


The  Apostles  stepped  into  the  little  ship  which  was 
to  bear  them  back  to  Palestine,  and  which  was  to  mark 
the  track  the  Crusaders  followed.  Passing  the  high 
cliffs  of  Rough  Cilicia,  the  long  coast  of  Cyprus,  and 
the  familiar  scenery  about  Tarsus,  they  passed  on  to  the 
place  4 whence  they  had  been  recommended  to  the  grace 
of  God,  for  the  work  which  they  fulfilled.’  Unlike  the 
Crusaders,  whose  arrival  was  anxiously  waited  for  by 
the  4 Prince  of  Antioch,’  and  by  a great  gathering  of 
his  nobles  and  chief  men,  and  who  were  44  brought  into 
Antioch  with  much  pomp  and  circumstance,  in  the 
midst  of  a great  assemblage  of  the  clergy  and  people,” 
the  Apostles,  unattended,  stepped  on  shore  at  Seleucia, 
or  on  the  bank  of  the  Orontes  at  Antioch,  and  found 
their  brethren.  Quickly  the  assembly  of  the  church 
was  gathered.  Gladly,  eagerly  they  heard  the  story 
of  the  strange  and  perilous  journey.  Sorrowfully  they 
grieved  over  the  wickedness  of  the  persecutors  ; thank- 
fully, joyfully  they  praised  God  that  the  great  mission, 
undertaken  with  trembling  and  with  solemn  awe  in 
their  hearts,  had  been  fully  accomplished,  and  that  4 Pie 
had  opened  the  door  of  faith  to  the  Gentiles.’ 

The  Apostles  had  been  gone  probably  the  greater 
portion  of  a year.  We  have  supposed  them  starting,  at 
the  opening  of  navigation,  from  Seleucia,  remaining  in 
Cyprus  two  or  three  weeks,  consuming  a week  more  on 
the  way  to  Pisidia  in  the  spring,  remaining  two  weeks 
or  more  in  Pisidian  Antioch,  three  or  four  months  in 
Iconium,  two  wdbks  in  Lystra  and  the  region  round 
about,  three  or  four  weeks  in  Derbe,  and  consuming 
two  months  or  more  on  the  returning  journey  in  the 
latter  part  of  autumn. 

So  ended  the  first  missionary  journey,  the  work  of  so 
much  labor,  of  so  much  faith,  of  so  much  lofty  Christian 
courage;  a journey  so  successful  and  of  such  inestima- 
ble consequences  to  us  Gentiles. 


( FOURTEENTH  SUNDAY, .) 


QUESTIONS. 

\17HAT  success  had  the  Apostles’  preaching  in  Derbe? 

' ’ What  other  meaning  is  there  for  the  words,  4 had  taught 
many  ’ ? 

How  far  was  Derbe  from  Tarsus  ? 

What  were  the  4 Cilician  Gates  ’ ? 

Do  you  suppose  Paul  failed  to  think  of  Tarsus  now  ? 
What  else  did  he  think  of  ? 

Who  may  ’have  helped  make  up  the  church  at  Lystra  ? 

What  strange  kind  of  encouragement  did  the  Apostles 
give  to  their  new  converts  ? 

What  especiaf  reason  was  there  why  Paul  should  say 
this  at  Lystra? 

What  does  this  show  in  respect  to  their  religion  ? 

When  religion  promises  happiness  here,  does  it  promise 
freedom  from  trials  ? 

Does  religion  itself  bring  trouble  ? 

What  does  4 confirming  the  souls  ’ mean  ? 

What  does  4 the  faith  ’ mean  ? 

Had  4 elders  ’ been  ordained  at  any  other  place  ? 

How  long  had  the  office  of  4 elders  ’ existed  ? 

What  was  the  difference  between  a Jewish  and  a Christ- 
ian elder  ? 

At  what  places  are  other  ‘elders’  mentioned  in  the 
New  Testament  ? 

What  is  meant  by  4 ordained  ’ ? 

How  long  did  the  Apostles  remain  in  each  place  ? 

Do  you  suppose  there  was  a separate  meeting  for  prayer 
and  fasting  ? 

Did  they  preach  publicly  ? Why  ? 

What  is  meant  by  4 commended  ’ them  ? 

Who  is  meant  by  4 the  Lord ,’  on  whom  they  believed  ? 
In  what  particulars  were  their  visits  different  now  from  their 
visits  on  the  way  out  ? 

What  would  they  think  of,  as  they  approached  the  dif- 
ferent towns  ? 


(. FOURTEENTH  SUNDAY.) 


Do  you  think  they  felt  any  especial  interest  in  Antioch 
in  Pisidia  ? 

Do  you  think  they  preached  elsewhere  in  Pisidia  than 
in  Antioch  ? 

Is  there  anything  which  may  mean  that  they  did  ? 
What  reason  might  there  have  been  for  stopping  to  preach 
now  in  Perga  ? 

What  difference  in  the  route  down  from  Perga  to  the 
sea,  from  that  on  the  way  up  ? 

Where  was  Attalia  ? 

Who  else  embarked  here  for  Antioch  ? 

What  is  meant  by  4 recommended  to  the  grace  of  God  ’ ? 

What  is  it  to  4 fulfil  a work  ’ ? 

How  does  the  Apostles’  disembarking  at  Antioch  com- 
pare with  that  of  the  Crusaders  ? 

How  were  they  welcomed  ? By  whom  ? 

What  was  the  one  great  thought  in  the  minds  of  all  af- 
ter the  Apostles  had  told  their  story  ? 

State  the  outline  of  the  journey,  giving  an  event  in  each 
place.  • 

How  long  had  the  Apostles  been  gone  ? 

Can  you  distribute  the  time  ? 

What  were  the  chief  Christian  characteristics  necessary 
to  prosecute  successfully  such  a journey? 

Why  is  this  journey  so  important  to  us  ? 

What  is  the  4 door  of  faith.’ 

How  had  it  been  opened  to  Gentiles  ? 

What  one  thing  only,  did  all  the  journeying,  all  the 
teaching,  all  the  persecution  mean  ? 

(28) 


Jiftraiflj  Simbatr. 


A DIFFICULT  QUESTION. 


LESSOK. 

Acts  xiv.  28  ; xv.  1,  2. 

HOW  long  Paul  and  Barnabas  remained  in  Antioch, 
we  cannot  determine  accurately.  It  is  supposed 
they  were  there  five  or  six  years.  We  may  be  sure, 
however,  that  they  were  not  idle.  Indeed,  a new  ques- 
tion was  now  arising,  which  would  require  no  small 
thought  and  attention.  After  a time,  there  came  down 
from  Judea  c certain  men  ’ 1 who  introduced  a subject 
into  the  assembly  which  at  once  aroused  all  the  feelings 
both  of  Jews  and  Gentiles.  This  subject  was  the  occa- 
sion of  a long  and  troubled  controversy ; it  was  the 
means  of  sending  Paul  again  to  Jerusalem ; and  it  in- 
volved the  most  momentous  consequences  to  all  future 
ages  of  the  Church  and  the  world.  It  was  debated  with 
the  most  eager  earnastness  on  each  side,  by  the  evil- 
minded  and  the  true-hearted ; and  afterwards,  at  An- 
tioch and  at  Jerusalem,  by  two  parties,  both  of  whom 
were  no  doubt  sincere  and  honest.  The  question  to  be 
decided  was  this : 

Whether  converts  from  the  Gentiles  ought  to  obey  the 
law  of  Moses . 

The  disturbers  at  Antioch  said  at  first,  that  Gentile 
converts  ought  to  be  circumcised , but  this  really  meant 
the  same  thing  as  when  they  said  afterwards,  at  Jeru- 


Notice  that  they  are  not  called  * brethren' 


96 


( FIFTEENTH  SUNDAY.) 


salem,  that  they  ought  to  be  circumcised  and  to  keep 
the  law  of  Moses.  For  to  demand  that  they  should  be 
circumcised,  was  to  demand  that  they  should  submit  to 
the  initiatory  rite  of  Moses’  law  in  becoming  a Jew,  and 
was  therefore  only  a test  of  submission  to  all  the  cere- 
monies and  rites  of  the  whole  Mosaic  law — that  is,  to 
all  the  rules  about  eating  clean  and  unclean  meats,  about 
washings,  sacrifices,  etc.  The  real  question,  then,  was : 2 

Whether  converts  from  the  Gentiles  ought  to  obey  the 
law  of  Moses. 

To  understand  the  real  perplexity  and  difficulty  which 
£his  question  would  excite  among  the  disciples  at  An- 
tioch and  at  Jerusalem,  we  must  think  of  the  broad, 
distinct  line  which,  in  the  mind  of  a Jew,  was  always 
drawn  between  a Jew  and  a Gentile.  If  we  notice  three 
things,  they  will  help  us  to  understand  the  difficulties 
of  the  question. 

I.  The  separation  between  Jews  and  Gentiles  was 
first  religious.  The  Jews  were  scattered  everywhere 
among  the  Gentiles,  “ over  every  part  of  the  Roman  em- 
pire. In  every  important  city  of  the  east  and  the  west, 
were  some  members  of  that  mysterious  people,  who  had 
a written  law,  which  they  read  and  re-read,  week  by 
week  and  year  by  year,  in  the  midst  of  those  who  sur- 
rounded them — who  were  bound  everywhere  by  a secret 
link  of  affection  to  one  city  in  the  world,  where  alone 
their  religious  sacrifices  could  be  offered — whose  whole 
life  was  utterly  abhorrent  from  the  temples  and  images 
which  crowded  the  neighborhood  of  the  synagogues, 
and  from  the  gay  and  impure  festivities  of  the  Greek 
and  Roman  worship.  Hence  the  Jews  in  foreign  na- 
tions were  surrounded  by  an  idolatry  which  shocked  all 
their  feelings,  and  a shameless  profligacy  which  was 


2 See,  also,  in  the  Letter  in  reply,  verse  24. 


A DIFFICULT  QUESTION. 


97 


even  associated  with  what  the  Gentiles  called  religion.” 
Even  the  Gentile  proselytes  who  went  over  to  the  Jew- 
ish faith,  44  were  looked  on  with  some  suspicion  by  the 
Jews  themselves,  and  thoroughly  hated  and  despised 
by  the  Gentiles.”  With  intensest  hatred  and  contempt, 
the  Jews  hated  the  idolatry  of  the  Gentiles,  their  many 
gods,  their  unclean  and  abominable  sacrifices , their 
many  temples,  instead  of  one , their  horrible  and  shame- 
less impurity  even  in  honor  of  their  gods.  The  religious 
separation  was  therefore  a very  wide  one. 

II.  The  separation  was  intellectual.  Side  by  side 
with  the  synagogues  in  strange  cities,  and  44  with  the 
doctrines  of  Judaism,  the  speculations  of  Greek  philoso- 
phers were  taught  and  discussed  in  schools so  that 
44  it  might  be  said  that  Plato  and  Aristotle,  Zeno  and 
Epicurus,  as  well  as  Moses,  4 had  in  every  city  those 
that  preached  them.’  ” 3 The  Jews  naturally  suspected 
and  hated  all  the  philosophy  and  science  which  had 
formed  the  mythology  and  theology  of  the  Gentiles. 
Indeed,  as  we  have  seen,  many  of  her  teachers  would 
not  allow  their  pupils  to  study  the  Greek  language  and 
literature.  An  intellectual  separation  was  therefore 
added  to  a religious  one. 

III.  More  than  this,  the  separation  was  social.  Then, 
as  now,  the  Jews  mingled  freely  with  Gentiles  in  all 
places  of  4 buying  and  selling,  conversing  and  disput- 
ing,’ but  in  their  families  they  were  entirely  separate. 
It  was  4 unlawful,’  in  their  domestic  relations,  4 for  a 
man  that  wTas  a Jew  to  keep  company  with  one  of  an- 
other nation.’ 4 The  charge  made  against  Peter  by  his 
fellow-Christians,  was:  4 Thou  wentest  in  to  men  uncir- 
cumcised, and  didst  eat  with  them.’ 5 This  matter  of 
eating  or  of  not  eating  with  Gentiles,  had  great  influ- 


8 xv.  21. 


4 x.  28. 


6 xi.  3. 


98 


(. FIFTEENTH  SUNDAY.) 


ence  over  the  Jews’  life.  The  table  and  the  daily  meal, 
is  one  place  where  acquaintance  ripens  into  friendly 
feeling,  and  friendly  feeling  ripens  into  attachment. 
u With  the  man  with  whom  I can  neither  eat  nor  drink, 
let  our  business  intercourse  be  what  it  may,  I shall  sel- 
dom become  as  familiar  as  with  him  whose  gi:est  I am, 
and  he  mine.  If  w^e  have,  besides,  an  abhorrence  of  the 
food  which  each  other  eats,  this  forms  a new  obstacle 
to  closer  intimacy.  Nothing  better  than  this  could 
possibly  be  devised  to  keep  one  people  distinct  from 
another.  It  causes  the  difference  between  them  to  be 
ever  present  to  the  mind,  touching  as  it  does  upon  so 
many  points  of  social  and  every-day  contact.”  It  keeps 
people  separate  better  “ than  any  difference  of  doctrine 
or  worship.” 

“ I will  buy  with  you,  sell  with  you,  walk  with  you,  talk  with  you, 
and  so  following ; but  I will  not  eat  with  you,  drink  with  you,  nor 
pray  writh  you,” 

says  Shylock  the  Jew  in  the  Merchant  of  Venice . 

The  social  separation  therefore  every  day  and  every 
hour  strengthened  the  religious  and  intellectual  separa- 
tion of  Jews  from  Gentiles. 

This  wide  separation  vras  most  rigidly  maintained, 
like  the  separation  of  caste  among  the  Hindoos.  “A 
Hindoo  cannot  eat  with  a Parsee  or  a Mohammedan ; 
and  among  the  Hindoos  themselves,  the  meals  of  a 
Brahmin  are  polluted  by  the  presence  of  a Pariah, 
though  they  meet  and  have  free  intercourse  in  the  or- 
dinary transactions  of  business.” 

Now,  how  was  it  possible  for  a Jew,  educated  accord- 
ing to  the  law  of  Moses,  even  though  he  believed  on 
Jesus  as  the  Messiah,  to  receive  a Gentile  religiously , 
intellectually , socially , unless  he  would  not  only  forsake 
idolatry  and  the  heathen  way  of  thinking  of  Christian 
things,  but  would  also  consent  to  eat  only  the  clean 


A DIFFICULT  QUESTION. 


99 


moats ; in  short,  unless  he  would  consent  to  circumci- 
sion, to  all  the  washings  and  sacrifices  and  tithes,  which 
the  law  of  Moses  commanded. 

We  must  remember  that  one  previous  point  had  been 
settled,  that  the  Gentiles  might  receive  the  Gospel  and 
might  he  converted . The  conversion  of  Cornelius  under 
Peter’s  preaching  had  settled  that.6  The  precise  point 
now  to  be  settled  was,  ichether  Gentiles  already  con- 
verted ought  to  obey  all  the  particidars  of  Moses'  law . 

Notice  now  how  the  recent  missionary  journey  would 
bring  up  this  question  for  decision.  “ Paul  and  Barna- 
bas had  no  doubt  freely  joined  in  social  intercourse  with 
the  Gentile  Christians  at  Antioch  in  Pisidia,  at  Iconium? 
Lystra,  and  Derbe.  At  Antioch  in  Syria,  too,  they  had 
lived  with  much  6 freedom’  with  the  Gentile  brethren.” 
The  Jewish  Christians,  especially  those  who  had  not 
been  out  of  Judea  and  Jerusalem — some  of  them,  at 
least — thought  this  all  wrong.  They  could  not  endftre 
the  thought  of  receiving  directly  into  the  church  these 
multitudes  of  converts  from  the  Gentiles  without  their 
agreement  to  obey  the  regular  Jewish  laws.  Some  of 
these  Jewish  Christians  were  no  doubt  most  sincere  in 
opposition  to  receiving  the  Gentile  Christians,  without 
coming  under  Moses’  law.  “ W e can  well  believe  that 
the  minds  of  many  may  Lave  been  perplexed  by  the 
words  and  conduct  of  our  Lord  himself ; for  he  had 
not  been  sent  ‘ save  to  the  lost  sheep  of  the  house  of 
Israel ;’  and  he  said  that  ‘ it  was  not  meet  to  take  the 
children’s  bread  and  give . it  to  dogs.’  To  them  this 
change  “ was  a rebellion  against  all  that  they  had  been 
taught  to  hold  inviolably  sacred.”  The  Jews,  ‘the 
holy  people,’  would  soon  be  swallowed  up,  they  would 
think,  in  this  “ universal  and  indiscriminating  religion  ” 


6 Acts  xi.  18. 


100 


FIFTEENTH  SUNDAY.) 


of  Christianity,  if  this  were  the  way  in  which  it  was 
to  be  administered.  And  Saul  of  Tarsus,  the  young 
Pharisee,  who,  years  before,  sat  c at  the  feet  of  Gama- 
liel,’ was  the  principal  person  who  was  now  trying  to 
make  this  change.  Very  likely,  therefore,  it  was  ‘ cer- 
tain ’ c of  the  sect  of  the  Pharisees 57  who  went  down  to 
Antioch  to  attend  to  this  matter. 

See  now  the  precise  form  the  discussion  took.  These 
men  did  not  say,  that  it  would  be  well  to  be  circum- 
cised ; it  would  avoid  difficulty  in  the  church,  it  would 
better  satisfy  the  minds  of  the  Christian  brethren  at 
Jerusalem,  if  they  would  be  circumcised  and  keep 
Moses’  law : but  very  falsely  they  said : ‘ Except  ye  be 
circumcised  after  the  manner  of  Moses,  ye  cannot  be 
saved.’  Such  a doctrine  must  have  been  instantly  op- 
posed by  Paul  with  his  intensest  energy.  The  very 
foundations  of  Christianity  were  in  danger  of  being  un- 
dermined. “ He  did  not  yield,  c no,  not  for  an  hour.’  ” 

For  some  time  the  discussion  was  continued  in  An 
tioch  ; perhaps  for  months,  or  even  for  a year.  There 
was  anxiety  and  perplexity  among  the  Syrian  Christ- 
ians. The  minds  of  Gentile  converts  were  troubled 
and  unsettled.  The  Gospel  of  Christ  was  perverted. 
Great  harm  was  being  done.  And  so  it  was  determined 
that  Paul  and  Barnabas  and  others  should  go  up  to  Jeru- 
salem, and  there,  in  an  assembly  of  apostles  and  elders, 
have  this  difficult  question  settled.  At  Jerusalem  were 
the  principal  Apostles,  James  and  Peter  and  John. 
From  Judea,  the  party  who  raised  the  vexed  question 
came,  and  would  exist  at  Jerusalem  in  its  greatest 
strength.  At  Jerusalem,  the  other  question  about 
Peter’s  preaching  to  the  Gentiles  had  been  decided. 
Jerusalem  was  the  place  where  all  religious  questions’ 


XV.  5. 


A DIFFICULT  QUESTION. 


101 


had  been  decided  for  centuries.  Jerusalem  was  there- 
fore the  place  where,  once  for  all,  this  question  ought 
to  be  decided ; and  Paul  and  Barnabas  were  the  per- 
sons who  ought  to  go  and  represent  the  side  of  truth 
and  of  right  there. 


(. FIFTEENTH  SUNDAY.) 


QUESTIONS. 

TTOW  long  were  Paul  and  Barnabas  in  Antioch  ? 

Who  at  length  came  to  Antioch  ? 

What  did  they  teach  ? 

When  they  required  men  to  be  circumcised,  what  test 
was  it  ? 

What  were  some  of  the  other  observances  required  ? 

What  then  was  the  difficult  question  ? 

% What  is  the  general  reason  why  it  was  difficult  ? 

What  was  the  first  characteristic  of  this  separation  ? 

How  did  the  scattered  Jews  appear  to  Homans  and 
Greeks  in  foreign  cities  ? 

What  did  the  Jews  see  connected  with  the  Gentile  re- 
ligions ? 

How  would  a proselyte  be  thought  of  both  by  Jews  and 
Gentiles  ? 

What  was  the  distinction  between  the  Jews  and  Gen- 
tiles in  respect  to  the  doctrine  of  God  ? 

What  in  respect  to  sacrifices  ? 

What  in  respect  to  temples  ? 

What  in  respect  to  moral  purity  ? 

What  was  the  second  characteristic  of  the  separation  ? 

What  doctrines  were  taught  in  these  foreign  cities  ? 

What  was  the  Greek  and  Roman  mythology  ? 

What  would  the  Jews  think  of  Greek  and  Roman  phi- 
losophy ? ... 

What  did  some  J ewish  teachers  think  of  the  Greek  lan- 
guage ? 

What  was  the  third  characteristic  of  the  separation  ? 

In  what  respect  did  the  J ews  mingle  freely  with  Gen- 
tiles ? 

In  what  respects  did  they  keep  themselves  separate  ? 

What  was  thought  unlawful  ? 

Where  do  you  find  this  rule  referred  to  ? 

How  was  it  that  the  rule  about  eating  kept  them  sepa- 
rate? 


(29) 


( FIFTEENTH  SUNDAY.) 


What  separation  in  a modern  heathen  nation  is  some- 
thing like  this  ? 

State  now  the  difficulties  in  receiving  a Gentile  or  a Jew  into 
the  church. 

What  previous  point  had  been  settled  ? 

When  had  that  been  settled  ? 

What  did  the  Apostles  say  at  that  time  ? 

What  was  the  precise  point  now  ? 

How  did  Paul’s  recent  journey  bring  up  this  question  ? 
Do  you  think  the  Jewish  Christians  sincere  in  opposing 
Paul? 

What  had  our  Saviour  said  wjiich  they  might  quote  on 
their  side  ? 

Of  what  sect  were  the  men  who  came  to  Antioch  from 
Judea  ? 

In  respect  to  the  form  of  their  demand,  what  did  not  these 
men  say  ? What  did  they  say  ? 

What  did  Paul  think  of  such  a doctrine  ? 

Why  was  the  doctrine  dangerous  ? 

What  shows  that  the  discussion  continued  some  time  ? 
What  is  the  difference  between  ‘ dissension  ’ and  ‘ dis- 
putation ’ ? 

What  would  naturally  be  the  result  among  the  Syrian  Christ- 
ians ? 

Could  they  honestly  be  in  trouble  about  it  ? 

How  could  the  question  be  decided  ? 

What  was  determined  at  last  ? 

Why  was  it  proper  that  it  should  be  decided  at  Jerusa- 
lem? 


(30) 


Sbtemifj  Simbrnr. 


THE  COUNCIL. 


• LESSON. 

Galatians  ii.  1-10;  Acts  xv.  3-22. 

THIS  third  journey  of  the  Apostle  to  Jerusalem  after 
his  conversion,  is  supposed  to  "be  the  one  which 
Paul  speaks  of  in  the  second  chapter  of  his  Letter  to  the 
Galatians.1  There  seems  to  he  little  doubt  that  these 
are  the  men  whom  Paul  there  calls  c false  brethren,’ 
who  were  c brought  in  unawares,’  and  c who  came  to 
spy  out  his  liberty,’  that  is,  to  see  whether  he  was  living 
freely  with  Gentiles  in  Antioch,  and  c to  whom  he  did 
not  give  place,  no,  not  for  an  hour.’ 

We  are  there  told  that  Paul  did  not  go  up  to  Jeru- 
salem simply  by  the  direction  of  the  Antioch  Christians, 
but  also  c by  revelation,’  by  the  direction  of  a vision, 
like  the  vision  in  the  Temple  years  before,  or  at  Troas 
afterwards.2  We  are  told,  also,  that  Titus  was  one  of 
the  c other  disciples  ’ who  went«with  him ; for  Titus 
was  a Greek,  and  c uncircumcised  :’  he  was  a specimen 
of  the  Gentile  converts,  that  the  Apostles  and  elders 
and  disciples  at  Jerusalem  might  see  what  kind  of  per- 
sons they  were  who  were  now  made  the  occasion  of 
this  controversy.  It  is  evident  that  through  all  the  c dis- 

1 There  have  been  various  opinions  in  respect  to  which  of  Paul’s  # 
Jive  journeys  to  Jerusalem  is  meant  by  the  passage  in  Galatians,  in 
which  he  speaks  of  going  up  ‘ fourteen  years  after.’  “ The  view  we 
have  adopted  is  that  of  the  best  critics  and  commentators.” 

3 Acts  xvi.  9. 


THE  COUNCIL. 


103 


putation  ’ at  Antioch,  most  if  not  all  of  the  Christians 
held  to  the  side  of  Paul,  for  it  is  said  they  were  4 brought 
on  theii*way  by  the  Church.’  If  the  greater  part  of  the 
Church  had  condemned  Paul’s  course,  it  is  not  likely 
that  we  would  have  had  this  notice  of  their  sympathy 
and  attachment.  44  The  course  of  the  Apostles  w^ 
along  the  great  Roman  road  which  followed  the  Phoe- 
nician coast-line,  and  traces  of  which  are  still  seen  in 
the  cliffs  overhanging  the  sea,  and  thence  through  the 
middle  of  Samaria  and  Judea.”  Along  the  way,  they 
saw  believers  already  converted,  some  of  whom,  in 
Phenice,  had  been  converted  under  the  preaching  of 
4 those  scattered  abroad  ’ after  the  persecution  of  Ste- 
phen.3 The  number  had  probably  increased  since  that 
time.  In  Samaria,  Philip  the  Evangelist,  and  Peter  and 
John,  had  preached  years  before,  and  the  Gospel  had 
been  received  with  4 great  joy,’  at  least  in  one  city.4  To 
whatever  churches  they  found  on  the  way,  they  told 
over  again  the^story  of  their  journey  among  the  Gen- 
tiles, and  how  4 a door  of  faith  ’ had  been  4 opened  tc 
the  Gentiles.’  In  all  these  places,  there  was  great  re 
joicing  among  the  assembled  believers.  To  the  church 
at  Jerusalem,  too,  they  at  length  told  the  same  story. 

With  what  strange  feelings  must  Paul  have  entered 
Jerusalem  now ! Twice  before,  since  his  conversion, 
had  he  been  in  the  holy  city.5  This  third  time,  he  came 
on  a far  more  important  errand,  and  probably  was  in 
the  city  much  longer  than  at  either  of  the  other  times/ 
During  the  fourteen  years  since  his  conversion,7  there 
had  been  many  changes.  Death  had  taken  away  many 

3 xi.  19. 

4 viii.  8,  14,  25  ; ix.  32. 

6 Acts  xxii.  17 ; Galatians  i.  18  ; and  Acts  xi.  30. 

c Galatians  i.  18 ; Acts  xii.  25. 

7 ‘ Fourteen  years  after'  is  supposed  to  mean  4 after 7 his  conver- 
sion. 


104 


0 SIXTEENTH  SUNDAY.) 


of  his  early  companions,  “ but  some  must  have  been 
there  who  had  studied  with  him  4 at  the  feet  of  Gama- 
liel.’ ” Herod  Agrippa,  who  killed  James  and  would 
have  killed  Peter,  had  met  his  awful  death.  The  Jews 
had  far  less  power  than  then  to  persecute  and  tyrannize 
pver  the  Church.  Some  of  the  Pharisees — perhaps  some 
of  Gamaliel’s  school — like  Paul,  had  believed  that  Jesus 
was  the  Christ.  But  though  they  had  believed,  they 
had  not,  like  Paul,  altogether  relinquished  their  rigid 
and  intense  zeal  for  the  law;  and  it  was  with  them  Paul 
was  now  to  discuss  this  most  difficult  question. 

Think  for  a moment  how  much  was  involved  in  the 
settlement  of  that  question  : Whether  Gentile  converts 
ought  to  obey  the  law  of  Moses.  The  question  was 
then  to  be  decided  for  all  countries  outside  of  the  land 
of  Judea;  for  in  all  countries,  Gentile  converts  would 
surely  be  made.  It  was  to  be  decided  for  all  ages  till 
the  end  of  the  world.  It  was  to  be  decided  there  in 
Jerusalem,  whether  we  Gentiles  of  America,  in  these 
distant  days,  shall  be  required,  when  we  believe  in  Jesus 
the  Saviour,  to  submit  to  the  4 washings,’  and  4 fasts,’ 
and  ‘sacrifices,’  to  observe  the  Passover  and  other 
feasts,  and  the  whole  ceremonial  of  the  Mosaic  law. 

When  Paul  and  Barnabas,  then,  bringing  Titus  and 
others  with  them,  told  to  the  assembled  church  the 
story  of  their  wonderful  success  in  preaching  the  Gos- 
pel among  the  Gentiles  of  Cyprus  and  Asia  Minor,  the 
Pharisee-members  of  the  church  said  at  once  that  these 
Gentile  converts  must  certainly  be  circumcised  and 
commanded  4 to  keep  the  law  of  Moses.’  This  was  an 
attack  on  the  whole  course  of  Paul,  who  had  admitted 
Gentiles  to  the  Church,  and  who  had  not  left  them,  so 
far  as  we  know,  any  direction  in  respect  to  the  ceremo- 
nial law.  It  was  casting  a suspicion  and  a reproach  on 
Barnabas.  It  was  saying,  too,  that  Titus,  whom  they 


THE  COUNCIL. 


105 


had  brought  with  them  as  a Christian  brother,  with 
whom  they  had  eaten  and  kept  company,  must  be  cir- 
cumcised or  he  could  not  be  saved . 

The  whole  subject  was  now  opened.  There  was 
earnest  conversation  about  it,  in  the  homes  of  the  disci- 
ples, wherever  the  brethren  met,  and  at  the  meetings 
of  the  church,  for  some  days.  We  know  that  Paul,  be- 
fore the  great  public  meeting  took  place,  at  which  the 
final  decision  was  to  be  made,  consulted  privately  the 
Apostles,8  and  told  over  his  journey,  his  labor,  and 
the  result  of  it  all ; and  that  James,  Peter,  and  John, 
4 pillars  5 of  the  Church,  agreed  with  and  sympathized 
with  Paul.9 

At  length  the  great  meeting  was  appointed,  that 
which  is  now  called  in  Church  history, 

THE  FIRST  COUNCIL  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH. 

This  council  may  have  been  in  session  more  than  one 
day.  To  understand  fully  the  deliberations  of  this  im- 
portant body,  let  us  divide  its  proceedings  into  the  dif- 
ferent parts : 

First,  there  was  much  earnest  debate,  (verse  7,)  and 
perhaps,  among  eager-minded  Jews  and  strong  Phari- 
sees, even  violent  gontroversy.  How  long  this  4 dis- 
puting ’ lasted,  we  do  not  know.  The  Spirit  of  Inspi- 
ration did  not  dictate  that  this  discussion  should  be 
preserved,  but  only  the  words  which  divinely  moved 
Apostles  spake.  It  consumed,  however,  doubtless,  no 
small  part  of  the  whole  council. 

Secondly,  Peter,  on  the  part  of  the  Apostles,  was  the 
first  who  gave  his  opinion,  (verses  7 to  11.)  It  was 
proper  that  he  should  speak  first,  because  he  first  of  all 
preached  the  Gospel  to  the  Gentiles.  He  spoke,  1. 
(verse  7)  of  his  own  preaching  to  the  Gentiles  a long 


Galatians  ii.  2. 


9 Galatians  ii.  9. 


106 


(SIXTEENTH  SUNDAY.) 


time  before,  at  Caesarea ; of  the  Gentiles’  belief  in  tho 
word  of  God,  and  of  God’s  directing  him  to  go  to 
them : 10  2.  (verses  8,  9)  of  the  decisive  fact  that  the 
Holy  Spirit  had  been  sent  to  these  Gentiles  as  He  had 
been  to  the  Jewish  believers,11  and  that  was  God’s  tes- 
timony that  both  Gentile  and  Jew  were  alike  to  him : 
3.  (verse  10)  of  the  yoke  of  £he  Jewish  law,  which 
bowed  down  their  neck  beneath  its  pressure  — com 
posed,  as  it  was,  of  so  many  sacrifices,  fasts,  types, 
carefulness  in  respect  to  eating  with  Gentiles  and  with 
defiled  persons  ; of  how  no  one  had  ever  been  able  to 
bear  up  under  all  the  ceremonies  it  commanded,  so 
weighty  were  they ; of  how  the  Pharisees  themselves 
could  bear  testimony  to  the  carefulness  and  exactness 
and  the  labor  of  keeping  that  law ; and  of  how  they 
ought  not  to  put  this  yoke  on  Gentiles,  to  whom  God 
had,  without  it,  given  the  Holy  Spirit:  4.  (verse  11) 
of  the  grace  of  Jesus,  the  Messiah,  and  not  the  law  of 
Moses,  as  the  way  of  being  saved  for  us  who  are  Jews, 
as  well  as  for  these  Gentiles. 

Peter  gave  his  decision,  therefore,  in  favor  of  Paul, 
and  against  the  sect  of  the  Pharisees. 

Thirdly,  Barnabas  and  Paul  next  spoke,  one  follow- 
ing the  other,  (verse  12.)  Probably  Barnabas  spoke 
first.  He  had  been  known  longer  among  the  brethren 
of  Judea  than  Paul.  “ There  was  a great  silence  through 
all  the  multitude,  and  every  eye  was  turned  on  the  mis- 
sionaries while  they  gave  the  narrative  of  their  jour- 
neys.” They  said  that  God,  by  miracles  and  ioo?ide?*s , 
had  shown  that  the  Gentiles  were  to  be  the  same  as  the 
Jews  in  the  Church.  At  Paphos,  a wilful  and  wicked 
magic-worker  had  been  struck  blind  ; at  Iconium,  dur- 
ing a long  residence,  c signs  and  wonders  ’ had  been 


Acts  x.  14,  15,  19,  20,  28. 


11  x.  44,  45;  xi.  15,  17,  18. 


THE  COUNCIL. 


107 


done.  These  wonderful  works  showed  that  God  had 
been  with  them,  and  that  it  was  He  who  had  helped 
them  plant  so  many  churches  in  the  midst  of  perils,  and 
robbers,  and  rivers,  and  mountains,  and  persecuting 
Jews,  and  wicked,  cruel,  superstitious  Gentiles.  They 
said,  too,  that  on  their  return,  they  found  these  Gen- 
tiles faithful,  and  rejoicing  in  God  in  the  midst  of  their 
trials.  The  Holy  Spirit  had  given  testimony  to  Peter’s 
preaching  to  the  Gentiles  at  Caesarea,  but  both  the 
Holy  Spirit  and  miracles  had  testified  to  their  preach- 
ing in  Cyprus  and  Asia  Minor.  This  we  suppose  is  the 
substance  of  what  Barnabas  and  Paul  said,  one  speak- 
ing of  some  things  and  the  other  of  others. 

Fourthly,  James  the  Appstle  now  spoke,  (verses  13 
to  21.)  There  were  two  Apostles  of  the  name  of  James.12 
James,  the  brother  of  John,  was  killed  by  Herod.13  This 
James  is  supposed  to^ehe  who  was  also  called  c James 
the  Just.’  “ ISTo  ju^^Bnt  could  have  more  weight 
with  the  Pharisee^^BIB^.”  After  the  long  narratives 
of  Barnabas  and  tl«  multitude  would  look  with 

solemn  silence  for  ^^Bpinion.  James  spoke,  1.  (verses 
13,  14)  of  Peter’ s^fcaching  to  the  Gentiles,  and  of 
their  conversion  l^Rie  Spirit ; and  then,  2.  (verses  15 
to  18)  proved,  by  quoting  a passage  from  the  Hebrew 
Scriptures,  that  the  conversion  of  the  Gentiles  had 
alioays  been  God’s  purpose.  Peter  was  right  in  preach- 
ing to  the  Gentiles,  said  the  Apostle  James ; for  in 
Amos,  the  prqphet,  it  is  written  that  God  will  build 
again  the  J ewish  nation,14  after  its  downfall,  in  order 

12  Matthew  x.  2,  3 ; Acts  i.  13.  13  Acts  xii.  2. 

14  The  tabernacle  is  the  tent , or  the  house  of  David  ; and  the  royal 
house  is  used  here  as  a figure  of  the  nation.  It  is  as  if  it  were  said, 
‘I  will  build  again  the  Koyal  Throne  of  the  Hebrew  Nation.’  The 
Royal  Throne  of  England  is  used  as  a figure  for  the  government  or 
the  nation  of  England. 


108 


(> SIXTEENTH  SUNDAY.) 


that  the  rest  of  mankind  and  all  the  Gentiles  might  seek 
after  God.  It  is  evident,  therefore,  that  from  the  be- 
ginning God  meant  that  the  Gentiles  should  be  con- 
verted and  brought  into  the  Church,  for  God  knows 
all  his  works  from  the  beginning.  Wherefore,  3.  (verse 
19)  he  judged  that  Gentiles  who  turn  to  God  should 
not  be  troubled  with  rites  and  ceremonies  : but  yet,  4. 
(verses  20,  21)  they  ought  to  be  taught  to  avoid  cer- 
tain things  which  might  be  the  occasion  of  trouble  and 
offence  to  their  Jewish  brethren ; four  things,  especially 
forbidden  by  that  law  read  every  Sabbath  in  the  syna- 
gogues, four  things  they  should  be  instructed  to  avoid — 
meat  offered  to  idols,15  sensual  lusts,  things  strangled, 
and  blood.  If  the  Gentiles  and  the  Jews  were  now  to 
eat  together,  they  must  both  agree  to  give  up  those 
things  which  were  offensive  to  each  other.  The  Gen- 
tiles ought  to  give  up  meat  po^gad  by  idols,  and  meat 
from  animals  strangled,16  am^^At  with  blood  in  it, 
since  the  very  sight  of  these«B^^kn  the  table  would 
at  once  arouse  the  horror  of  rrJe^^B 

Fifthly,  this  advice  of  James  scSd  right  and  good, 
and  the  council  solemnly  adopted  i^Bverses  22  and  29.) 
It  was  neither  at  one  extreme  nor^Bthe  other.  It  re- 
leased the  Gentile  converts  from  obeying  the  whole 
Mosaic  law.  They  need  not  be  circumcised,  nor  offer 
sacrifice,  nor  observe  the  feasts,  the  fasts,  the  washings, 

15  ‘ Pollutions  of  idols,’  that  is,  “ the  flesh  of  animals  offered  to 
idols,  which  remained  over  and  was  eaten  by  the  worshippers,  or  was 
sometimes  sold  in  the  markets.”  This  flesh,  according  to  Moses’  law, 
was  polluted. 

16  A strangled  animal  would  of  course  retain  the  blood  in  the  flesh, 

while  the  Levitical  law  was  that  the  blood  should  be  poured  out  when 
the  animal  was  killed,  (Leviticus  xvii.  13.)  ‘ Strangled  animals,’  that 

is,  “those  animals  which,  like  fowls,  were  caught  in  snares,  and 
whose  blood  was  not  let.” 

17  Leviticus  xvii.  10-14. 


THE  COUNCIL, 


109 


etc.  At  the  same  time,  it  commanded  them  to  observe 
certain  parts  of  the  law,  the  violation  of  which  would 
prevent  the  hearty  agreement  of  Jews  with  Gentiles. 

The  church — c the  elders  and  the  brethren  ’ — agreed 
upon  this  wise  and  just  arrangement : the  Apostles,  in 
their  honored  and  dignified  character,  recommended 
and  approved  it : the  Holy  Ghost  confirmed  it.18  This 
most  difficult  question  was  therefore  answered  by  a 
clear  and  satisfactory  decision. 


verse  28. 


{SIXTEENTH  SUNDAY.) 


QUESTIONS. 


Ty'HAT  other  account  of  this  journey  to  Jerusalem  have  w« 
* * besides  that  in  the  Acts  ? 


By  whose  direction  then  did  Paul  go  ? 

Who  was  one  of  the  1 certain  other’  ? (xy.  2.)  Why  ? 
What  does  4 being  brought  on  their  way  by  the  church  ’ 
mean  ? 

What  are  the  4 certain  men  ’ in  Acts  called  in  Galatians  ? 
What  does  4 spy  out  our  liberty  ’ mean  ? 

When  had  the  Gospel  been  preached  in  Phenice  and  Sa- 
maria ? By  whom  ? 

Do  you  think  these  churches  had  not  heard  this  news 
before  ? 

How  many  times  before,  since  his  conversion,  had  Paul  been 
in  Jerusalem  ? 

On  what  occasions  ? 

4 Fourteen  years  after  ’ what  ? 

What  changes  had  taken  place  ? 

What  was  involved  in  the  question  ? 

Who  now  started  the  question  again  ? 

What  was  it  saying  in  respect  to  Paul  and  Barnabas  and 
Titus  ? 

Whom  did  Paul  consult  privately  ? 

What  is  this  great  meeting  called  in  church-history  ? 

How  long  did  it  continue  ? 

What  was  the  first  part  of  the  council  ? 

Who  took  part  in  it  ? 

How  much  time  did  it  consume  ? 

What  was  the  second  part  ? 

Why  should  he  speak  first  ? 

What  was  the  first  point  in  his  speech  ? 

Where  do  you  find  the  account  of  this  ? 

What  was  the  second  point  ? 

What  is  the  reason  here  why  Jews  and  Gentiles  are 
alike  ? 


(31) 


{SIXTEENTH  SUNDAY.) 

How  does  faith  purify  the  heart  ? 

What  was  the  third  point  in  his  speech  ? 

Explain  the  meaning  of  this  verse. 

What  is  the  fourth  point  ? 

What  is  meant  by  1 the  grace  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  ’ ? 
How  can  we  be  saved  now  ? 

What  was  Peter’s  decision,  therefore  ? 

What  was  the  third  part  of  the  council  ? 

What  addition  did  they  make  to  Peter's  argument  ? 

At  what  places  had  miracles  been  wrought  ? 

What  was  the  fburth  part  of  the  council  ? 

How  do  you  distinguish  from  each  other  the  two  Apos- 
tles of  this  name  ? 

What  was  this  one  also  called  ? 

What  were  the  first  and  second  points  in  his  speech  ? 
What  prophet  does  he  quote  ? 

What  is  the  meaning  of  ‘ the  tabernacle  of  David  ’ ? 
What  is  the  meaning  then  of  the  sixteenth  verse  ? 

How  does  he  prove  that  God  from  the  beginning  intend- 
ed to  convert  the  Gentiles  ? 

What  were  the  third  and  fourth  points  in  his  speech  ? 

If  the  Jewish  Christians  and  Gentile  Christians  were  to 
eat  together,  what  must  the  Gentiles  give  up  ? 
What  is  meant  by  ‘ pollutions  of  idols  ’ ? 

Why  were  strangled  animals  and  ‘blood’  named? 

How  were  these  four  things  forbidden  every  Sabbath  ? 
What  was  the  fifth  part  of  the  council  ? 

Who  confirmed  the  decision  ? 

(32) 


S tbtrd ecntlj  Smttmn . 


THE  LETTER  AND  THE  LETTER-BEARERS. 


LESSON. 

Acts  xv.  22-35 ; Galatians  ii.  9-14. 

ONE  thing  only  now  remained  ; to  send  the  decision 
of  the  church  to  the  Gentile  converts  so  anxiously 
waiting  for  it.  That  there  might  be  no  charge  of  mis- 
representation against  Paul  and  Barnabas,  or  other  ob- 
jection by  the  c false  brethren’  at  Antioch,  Judas-Bar- 
sabas  and  Silas  were  appointed  to  go  with  the  Apostles. 
They  were  to  carry  a letter  from  the  church,  contain- 
ing the  decision  of  the  council,  and  were  to  explain 
4 by  word  ’ what  was  written  within. 

And  so  the  little  company  take  the  road  back  to  An- 
tioch— a larger  company  than  when  they  came — Judas, 
Silas,  Paul,  Barnabas,  Mark,1  Titus,  and  4 others.’  While 
they  are  on  their  way  with  the  letter,  let  us  think  of  two 
or  three  things  which  had  been  decided  by  the  council  at 
Jerusalem,  from  which  they  were  now  returning. 

I.  Paul  had  been  publicly  recognised  by  the  church, 
and  by  the  inspired  Apostles,  as  Apostle  to  the  Gen- 
t;les.  His  first  missionary  journey  had  been  approved 
by  the  council.  And  besides  this,  James,  Peter,  and 
John2  saw  that  Paul  was  called  of  God  to  a special 

1 Mark,  you  remember,  came  back  from  Pamphylia  to  Jerusalem. 
We  find  him  very  soon  again  at  Antioch.  It  is  probable  that  he  was 
in  this  company  with  his  kinsman,  Barnabas. 

2 This  is  the  only  time  Paul  and  John  met,  so  far  as  we  know. 
John  here  disappears  from  the  Scriptures  till  we  see  him  again  in  the 
isle  of  Patmos. 


THE  LETTER  AND  LETTER-BEARERS . * 111 


work  among  Gentiles.3 *  They  therefore  gave  him  and 
Barnabas  their  6 right  hand  of  fellowship,5  appointing 
them  to  preach  the  Gospel  to  the  Gentiles,  and  them- 
selves to  preach  to  Jews.3  Paul’s  apostleship  to  the 
Gentiles  had  been  therefore  publicly  established. 

II.  The  three  Apostles  at  Jerusalem  had  directed 
Paul  and  Barnabas  especially  ‘ to  remember  the  poor.54 
“ The  Jewish  Christians  in  Jerusalem  were  exposed  to 
peculiar  suffering  from  poverty,  and  we  have  seen  Paul 
and  Barnabas  once  before  the  bearers  of  a contribution 
from  a foreign  city  to  their  relief.55  That  Paul  was 
4 forward  to  do 5 this  we  know  from  his  epistles  after- 
wards,6 in  which  we  see  that  he  kept  in  mind  the  poor 
‘brethren5  of  Jerusalem  in  his  journeys. 

III.  Titus,  the  Greek,  who  came  up  with  them  to 
Jerusalem,  had  not  been  circumcised  ;6  and  so  a Gentile, 
without  yielding  to  the  law  of  Moses,  had  been  pub- 
licly recognised  as  a believer.  The  case  of  Titus  would 
be  used  as  an  example  with  other  Jews  and  Gentiles, 
as  Paul  himself  mentions  the  fact  when  he  writes  to  the 
Gentile  Galatians.6 

The  company  of  travellers  were  joyfully  received  at 
Antioch,  especially  the  two  missionaries  and  the  two 
letter-bearers  from  Jerusalem.  “ The  whole  body  of 
the  church  was  summoned  together  to  hear  the  reading 
of  the  letter ; and  we  can  well  imagine  the  eagerness 
with  which  they  crowded  to  listen  to  such  an  import- 
ant communication.55  When  it  was  opened  they  read, 

3 Galatians  ii.  9.  4 Galatians  ii.  10. 

B A collection  at  Corinth  for  the  saints  at  Jerusalem  is  recom- 
mended in  I.  Corinthians  xvi.  1-3  ; and  the  same  passage  shows  that 
Paul  recommended  the  same  thing  to  the  Galatians.  The  Mace- 

donians and  the  Achaians  made  collections  for  poor  saints  at  Jerusa- 
lem. Homans  xv.  26. 

® Galatians  ii.  3. 


112 


( SEVENTEENTH  SUNDAY.) 


that  in  four  things  only  they  would  be  required  to  obey 
the  Mosaic  law.  They  were  not  obliged  to  be  circum- 
cised, nor  to  offer  the  many  sacrifices  at  the  temple,  nor 
to  practise  the  Jewish  purifications,  nor  to  make  the 
Jewish  difference  between  clean  and  unclean  meats,  ex- 
cept in  respect  to  meat  offered  to  idols,  strangulated 
meat,  and  meat  with  blood  in  it.  In  a word,  except 
these  four  things,  which  every  one  ought  willingly  to 
observe,  the  whole  exact  and  burdensome  routine  of 
Moses’  law  was  not  binding  on  them.  What  rejoicing 
this  glad  news  made  among  them  we  can  best  appre- 
ciate by  thinking  how  it  would  be  in  our  day.  Suppose 
the  demand  was  made  to-day  that  the  Gentile  Christ- 
ians of  America  must  keep  the  law  of  Moses,  must  offer 
sacrifices  at  Jerusalem,  must  eat  none  but  clean  meats, 
must  purify  ourselves  at  every  defilement  according  to 
the  slow  and  exact  processes  of  the  Levitical  law,  and 
in  all  other  things  be  governed  by  the  ceremonial  law 
of  Moses  : suppose  that  we  had  sent  good  men  to  Je- 
rusalem, to  have  the  decision  made  by  authorities  in  the 
church  there  under  the  direction  of  the  Holy  Ghost : 
suppose  we  should  receive  on  their  return  such  a letter 
as  this  which  was  read  in  Antioch.  We  can  imagine 
the  pleasure  and  the  pious  thanksgiving  of  the  Antioch 
Christians,  on  their  release  from  the  yoke  of  the  bond- 
age of  the  law. 

How  much,  too,  the  words  and  the  sympathy  of 
Judas  and  of  Silas  added  to  their  rejoicing.  c Being 
prophets,’  by  the  especial  teaching  of  the  Holy  Spirit7 
they  exhorted  and  confirmed  the  brethren.  And  after 
some  short  stay,  the  church  permitted  them  to  depart. 
Silas,  however,  had  a new  and  a greater  work  to  do, 
although  perhaps  he  did  not  know  it.  He  was  to  be- 


7 See  page  43 


THE  LETTER  AND  LETTER-BEARERS.  113 


come  the  fellow-missionary  of  Paul.  Guided  by  the 
Divine  Spirit,  and  thinking  he  could  do  good  in  An- 
tioch, he  remained  with  the  two  missionaries  and  with 
many  others  who  were  there,  4 teaching  and  preaching 
the  word  of  the  Lord.’ 

There  is  one  other  event  which  occurred  at  Antioch 
in  connection  with  this  subject  of  the  council  and  the 
letter.  It  is  supposed  that  while  Paul  and  Barnabas 
were  remaining  in  Antioch,  that  visit  of  Peter  to  An- 
tioch took  place  during  which  Paul  found  it  necessary 
to  reprove  Peter.8  For  some  reason,  which  we  do  not 
know,  Peter  came  from  Jerusalem  to  Antioch,  and 
while  there,  at  first  lived  freely,  eating  freely  with  the 
Gentiles.  This  was  in  accordance  with  the  decision  of 
the  council.  But  when  other  Jewish  brethren  came 
down  from  Jerusalem  from  James,  who  seem  to  have 
retained  their  old  Jewish  prejudices  against  eating  with 
Gentiles,  Peter  4 withdre  w and  separated  ’ himself  from 
the  Gentiles,  living  with  the  Jews  only.  This  was  not 
in  violation  of  the  letter  of  the  decree  of  the  council, 
for  that  said  nothing  about  compelling  the  Jewish 
Christians  to  eat  with  the  Gentile  Christians ; but  it 
was  plainly  opposed  to  its  spirit , since  the  decree  was 
meant  to  promote  the  social  fellowship  of  Jewish  and 
Gentile  Christians.  Other  Jewish  Christians  followed 
the  example  of  Peter,  and  even  Barnabas  was  led  to  do 
the  same  thing. 

This  inconsistent  conduct  of  Peter,  which  was  likely 
to  make  anxiety  and  perhaps  controversy  again  in  the 
church,  Paul  resisted  with  all  his  might.  We  find  here 
a little  of  Peter’s  old  fickle  impulsiveness,  but  it  is  his 
only  departure  from  his  unfaltering  steadfastness  that 
we  find  anywhere  after  his  bitter  repentance  for  denial. 


B Galatians  ii.  11. 


114 


(SEVENTEENTH  SUNDAY.) 


Paul  did  not  spare  him  the  rebuke  he  thought  he  de- 
served. 4 Before  all,’9  he  4 withstood  him  to  the  face,’8 
and  emphatically  reminded  him  that  he  was  in  effect 
going  back  to  the  old  and  false  principle,  that  a man 
was  justified  by  keeping  the  law  of  Moses,  and  not,  as 
all  Christians  now  believed,  by  believing  in  Jesus  the 
Christ.  The  whole  occurrence  was  no  doubt  some 
months,  perhaps  a year,  after  the  council. 

44  This  scene,  though  merely  mentioned,  is  one  of  the 
most  remarkable  in  sacred  history  ; and  the  mind  tries 
to  picture  to  itself  the  appearance  of  the  two  men.  It 
is  therefore  at  least  allowable  to  mention  here  that 
general  notion  of  the  forms  and  features  of  the  two 
Apostles,  which  has  been  handed  down  in  tradition, 
and  was  represented  by  the  early  artists.  St.  Paul  is 
set  before  us  as  having  the  strongly  marked  and  promi- 
nent features  of  a Jew,  yet  not  without  some  of  the 
liner  lines  of  Greek  thought.  His  stature  was  diminu- 
tive and  his  body  disfigured  by  some  lameness  or  dis- 
tortion, which  may  have  provoked  the  contemptuous 
expressions  of  his  enemies.”10  His  face  is  represented 
as  long  and  oval,  his  nose  eagle-shaped,  his  eyes  spark- 
ling and  gray,  under  thick,  overhanging  eyebrows  united 
at  the  centre,  his  complexion  transparent,  his  forehead 
high  and  bald,  his  hair  brown,  and  his  beard  long, 
flowing,  and  pointed.  44  St.  Peter  is  represented  to  us  as 
a man  of  larger  and  stronger  form,”  4 with  a broad  fore- 
head, rather  coarse  features,  an  open,  undaunted  coun- 
tenance,’ a quick,  dark  eye,  a pale,  sallow  complexion, 
44  and  the  short  hair  which  is  described  as  entirely  gray 
at  the  time  of  his  death,  curled  black  and  thick  round 
his  temples  and  chin,  when  the  two  Apostles  stood  to- 
gether at  Antioch,  twenty  years  before  their  martyr- 


14th  verse. 


10  See  II.  Corinthians  x.  1,  10. 


THE  LETTER  AND  LETTER-BEARERS.  115 


dom.”  These  traditions  and  pictures  may  have  at  least 
a partial  foundation  in  truth. 

Though  the  strongest  indignation  is  expressed  in 
Paul’s  rebuke,  we  have  no  reason  to  suppose  that  any 
actual  quarrel  took  place  between  the  two  Apostles. 
Peter  most  likely  saw  at  once  his  fault,  and  melted  into 
penitence.  “ His  mind  was  easily  moved  to  quick  and 
sudden  changes ; his  disposition  was  loving  and  gener- 
ous ; and  we  should  expect  his  sorrow  to  be  at  Antioch 
what  it  was  at  the  high-priest’s  house  in  Jerusalem.” 
How  delightful  it  is,  too,  to  turn  to  the  closing  words 
of  his  own  second  letter  to  Christian  believers,  in 
which,  while  he  is  thinking  and  writing  of  the  pure 
and  peaceful  happiness  of  the  future  world,  he  touch- 
ingly alludes  to  c our  beloved  brother  JPaul.m  The  very 
fidelity  of  his  brother-Apostle  at  Antioch,  made  deeper 
and  broader  in  the  great  heart  of  the  noble  Peter  his 
love  and  esteem  for  Paul  to  the  end  of  his  days. 


11 II.  Peter  iii.  15,  16. 


0 SEVENTEENTH  SUNDAY.) 


QUESTIONS. 

YWHAT  one  thing  remained  to  be  done  ? 

* * What  was  the  object  of  sending  persons  with  Paul  and 
Barnabas  ? 

How  many  made  up  the  party  who  returned  to  Antioch  ? 
Why  do  we  think  that  Mark  was  in  the  company  ? 
What  had  the  council  decided  in  respect  to  Paul  ? 

What  was  decided  in  respect  to  his  journey  ? 

What  did  James,  Peter  and  John  ? 

What  is  meant  by  4 right  hand  of  fellowship  ’ ? 

What  is  meant  by  4 the  heathen  ’ and  4 the  circumci- 
sion ’ ? 

Did  Paul  see  John  at  any  other  time  ? 

What  direction  did  the  three  Apostles  give  to  Paul  ? 

What  shows  that  Paul  did  this  ? 

Where  does  he  say  that  he  did  ? 

What  had  been  decided  in  respect  to  Titus  ? 

Why  was  this  important  ? 

How  would  the  party  be  received  at  Antioch  ? 

To  whom  was  this  letter  addressed  ? 

Was  it  directed  to  all  Christians  in  these  places  ? 

What  does  4 troubled  you  with  words  ’ refer  to  ? 

What  does  4 subverting  your  souls  ’ mean  ? 

Who  claim  authority  in  the  expression  4 to  whom  we 
gave ’ ? 

Who  had  hazarded  their  lives  ? Where  ? 

Who  is  the  highest  authority  in  respect  to  the  necessary 
things  ? 

Why  are  these  things  called  4 necessary  ’ ? 

Who  are  4 they,’  in  the  thirtieth  verse  ? 

What  does  the  word  4 multitude  ’ show  in  respect  to  the 
size  of  the  Antioch  church  ? 

What  other  office  than  letter-bearers  did  Judas  and  Silas 
hold? 

What  was  a prophet  ? 

What  is  meant  by  4 confirmed  them  ’ ? 

(33) 


{SEVENTEENTH  SUNDAY.) 

What  providential  purpose  was  there  in  Silas’s  remain- 
ing ? 

How  much  of  Silas’s  life  did  this  stay  at  Antioch  change  ? 
Why  is  it  especially  important  to  seek  divine  guidance 
when  we  make  changes  in  our  homes  or  our  busi- 
ness ? 

What  other  event  is  supposed  to  have  taken  place  at  this 
time  at  Antioch  ? 

How  did  Peter  live  at  the  first  ? 

What  did  he  afterwards  ? after  what  ? 

‘ Withdrew  and  separated  himself’  from  whom  ? 

What  is  meant  by  4 fearing  the  circumcision  ’ ? 

Did  Peter  violate  the  decree  of  the  council  ? 

Who  followed  his  example  ? 

Can  a man  confine  his  wrong  acts  to  himself  ? 

What  trait  of  Peter’s  character  is  shown  here  ? 

What  did  Paul  say  and  do  ? 

How  long  a time  after  the  council  might  this  have  been  ? 
Was  there  any  open  quarrel  between  the  two  Apostles? 
What  might  be  expected  naturally  from  Peter  ? 

How  did  Peter  afterwards  speak  of  Paul  ? 

Where  does  he  say  this  ? 

What  had  he  just  been  writing  about  ? 

What  was  the  effect  therefore  of  Paul’s  reproof? 

What  will  be  the  effect  of  every  just  and  kind  reproof 
in  the  heart  of  a good  man  ? 

(34) 


<S%] jhmfy  Smibatr. 


STARTING  ON  THE  SECOND  JOURNEY. 


LESSOR. 

Acts  xv.  35-41 ; xvi.  1. 

FOR  many  days,  for  some  weeks  or  months,  Paul  and 
Barnabas  continued  to  preach  and  teach  in  Antioch. 
The  church  of  c Christians 5 must  have  increased  largely 
by  this  time.  There  must  have  been  many  in  the  city 
to  listen  to  the  doctrines  of  Jesus,  for  it  was  c with  many 
others  also  ’ that  they  taught.  Simeon  Niger  and  Lu- 
cius of  Cyrene  and  Menaen  were  perhaps  there  still. 
Mark  and  Silas  and  Titus  were  there.  Many  strangers, 
among  those  Avho  flocked  to  this  city  and  its  famous 
oracle,  as  well  as  the  people  of  the  city,  must  have  list- 
ened to  these  numerous  preachers.  It  was  not  neces- 
sary that  all  these  c prophets 5 should  remain  there,  even 
after  Judas  and  Peter  had  departed.  Other  churches, 
feeble  and  struggling,  needed  the  aid  and  sympathy  of 
strong  instruction  and  Christian  visitation.  Paul  could 
but  think  again  and  again  of  the  pro-consul  at  Paphos, 
of  the  brethren  and  elders  at  the  other  Antioch  and  at 
Iconium  and  Lystra  and  Derbe  ; and  he  longed  to  see 
them  and  help  them  and  do  them  good.  At  length 
Paul  proposes  to  Barnabas  a visit  to  all  those  cities  of 
their  former  journey.  The  full  purpose  of  the  visit 
must  have  been  to  see  what  was  the  condition  of  the 
churches,  to  strengthen  them  in  the  faith,  and  to  carry 
them  the  decision  of  the  council  at  Jerusalem. 

Barnabas  is  ready  to  go,  but  he  wishes  to  take  John 


STARTING  ON  THE  SECOND  JOURNEY.  11 7 

Mark  with  them.  Paul  had  tried  Mark  once.  Once 
before  from  this  very  city,  from  the  very  port  of  Seleu- 
ci^,  he  had  started  with  Mark  ; and  when  they  came  to 
the  real  hardship  of  the  journey,  Mark  withdrew  and 
came  home.  He  remembered  the  painful  separation  at 
Perga ; and  he  could  not  consent  to  risk  such  a failure 
the  second  time.  Paul  could  not  take  Mark  again. 

The  Scriptures  are  honest  in  their  narrative.  They 
tell  us  plainly  that  Paul  and  Barnabas,  though  mission- 
aries and  holy  men,  had  a c sharp  contention’  about  this 
matter.  It  was  a personal  opinion  and  not  a doctrine 
about  which  they  contended.  It  was  not  some  very 
grave  question  about  Jews  or  Gentiles,  but  simply  the 
fitness  or  unfitness  of  a person  for  a work.  There  were 
severe  words  no  doubt  between  Paul  and  Barnabas. 
Placing  ourselves  on  one  side  and  on  the  other,  we  can 
see  reasons  why  each  one  might  think  himself  right  in 
adhering  to  his  own  opinion.  We  can  think  how  Paul 
would  prize  a steadfast  will  and  undaunted  courage  in 
a work  of  constant  danger : how  he  would  think  the 
whole  work  put  in  peril  or  disgraced  by  withdrawal 
from  it : what  an  embarrassment  and  hindrance  a timid 
or  half-hearted  companion  would  be  to  him:  how  Mark’s 
first  failure  in  such  an  important  work  made  Mark  un- 
trustworthy in  Paul’s  esteem  for  a journey  through 
wild  mountain-passes  and  rough  enemies.  We  can 
think  how  Barnabas  loved  his  kinsman  : how  he  thought 
of  the  pleasure  of  taking  him  again  to  his  native  island : 
how  Mark  had  cost  him  many  prayers  and  much  anx- 
iety : how  4 his  dearest  wish  was  to  see  him  a mission- 
ary of  Christ :’  how  Mark  had  repented  of  the  wrong 
he  had  done  in  withdrawing  from  Perga : how,  now 
won  back  to  obedience,  he  had  come  from  his  home  in 
Jerusalem,  and  was  ready  now  to  face  all  the  difficulties 
and  dangers  of  the  enterprise  : how,  to  reject  him  now, 


118 


( EIGHTEENTH  SUNDAY.) 


was  to  treat  harshly  his  sincere  and  tender  repentance, 
and  to  diminish  his  influence  as  a preacher  and  servant 
of  Jesus.  “Paul’s  natural  disposition  was  impetuous 
and  impatient  and  easily  kindled  to  indignation,”  Bar- 
nabas was  once  foremost  among  the  c prophets 5 of  An- 
tioch, when  Paul  was  last,  and  now  Paul  only  was  chief 
of  all.  Barnabas  might  possibly  have  thought,  too,  that 
as  he  had  first  introduced  Paul  to  the  Apostles  at  Jeru- 
salem, as  he  had  first  brought  him  to  Antioch,  it  was 
but  right  that  Paul  should  listen  to  him  in  his  love  for 
his  relative.  Each  clung  to  his  own  opinion.  No  doubt 
both  were  to  be  blamed,  as  other  good  and  great  and 
inspired  men  are  blamed  for  their  sins. 

As  they  could  not  agree,  they  must  separate;  but 

we  cannot  suppose  they  parted  in  anger,  like  enemies.” 
“ Divine  Providence  overruled  their  quarrel  to  a good 
result.”  They  divided  the  whole  journey  between 
them.  Perhaps  the  agreement  was  made  that  Paul 
should  go  to  the  cities  on  the  main  land,  and  Barnabas 
should  again  go  over  the  island.  It  may  be  that  Bar- 
nabas went  from  Cyprus  to  Perga  too.1  As  Perga  was 
the  place  to  which  Mark  went  before,  it  would  be  nat- 
ural for  Barnabas  and  Mark  to  go  as  far  as  that  again.  So 
Barnabas  and  Mark  sailed  again  no  doubt  from  Seleucia 
to  Salamis,  leaving  Paul  in  Antioch  to  do  upon  the  land 
his  part  of  the  visitation  of  the  churches. 

Paul  now  went  through  Syria  and  Cilicia.  Of  course 
he  did  not  go  by  sea.  Taking  Silas,  he  went  therefore 
first  to  those  churches  in  the  region  of  Antioch  and  in 
his  native  province  in  which  he  had  before  labored.2 
Churches  already  existed  in  Cilicia.  The  letter  of  the 

1 If  Barnabas  went  through  Cyprus  and  then  up  to  Perga,  and  Paul 
to  Antioch  in  Pisidia,  then  both  of  them  went  to  all  the  cities  of  their 
previous  journey. 

2 Galatians  i.  21. 


STARTING  ON  THE  SECOND  JOURNEY.  119 


council  had  been  addressed  to  the  Gentile  brethren  in 
Cilicia  as  well  as  in  Syria  and  in  Antioch.  It  was  a good 
thing,  too,  that  Silas,  who  was  recommended  in  the  let- 
ter of  the  council,  was  with  Paul,  on  his  visit  to  the 


Compare  this  map  with  the  map  of  Cilicia  in  the  First  Sunday.  It 
will  be  well  to  compare  any  of  the  maps  with  the  general  map  in  the 
Frontispiece. 


churches  of  Syria  and  Cilicia.  We  cannot  tell  the  ex- 
act cities  in  which  these  churches  were.  Possibly  Paul 
may  have  struck  off  first  into  the  country  east  of  An- 
tioch, or  into  the  valley  of  the  Orontes,  and  may  have 
visited  some  of  the  cities  there ; but  more  likely  he  and 


120 


(. EIGHTEENTH  SUNDAY.) 


Silas  crossed  tlie  bridge  over  the  Orontes  at  Antioch 
and  took  the  road  towards  the  north.  They  crossed  the 
mountain-range,  the  baundary  between  Syria  and  Cili- 
cia, through  the  gorge  called  c the  Syrian  Gates.’  Among 
the  cities  on  the  road  around  the  corner  of  the  great 
sea  were  Alexandria,  named  after  Alexander  the  Great, 
and  Issus,  at  the  very  corner,  where  the  same  great 
general  won  a great  victory.  “ If  there  were  churches 
anywhere  in  Cilicia,  there  must  have  been  one  in  Tar- 
sus. Paul  had  lived  there  perhaps  some  years  since  his 
conversion.”  If  then  they  took  the  direct  Roman  road 
from  Issus  to  Tarsus,  they  now  c$me  to  the  plain  of 
Flat  Cilicia,  with  which  Paul  had  been  familiar  from 
a child,  and  passed  through  two  conspicuous  cities3 
which  Paul  knew.  When  he  entered  his  native  city, 
how  Paul’s  heart  must  have  swelled  with  thankfulness 
that  he  had  been  rescued  from  the  self-righteous  deeds 
of  a Pharisaic  life : how  he  burned  to  rescue  his  beloved 
city  from  the  vain  idols  and  dumb  statues  of  heathen 
religion  he  saw  in  the  streets.  Even  here  in  Tarsus  a 
change  had  begun.  We  may  hope  it  penetrated  the 
Apostle’s  own  family,  and  that  some  of  his  early  ac- 
quaintances and  friends  had  been  brought  to  Christ. 

But  the  missionaries  did  not  make  long  stay  here. 
Other  cities  of  the  first  journey  lay  beyond  the  moun- 
tains. Across  c the  sunny  plains  of  Cilicia,’  beyond  that 
great  mountain-wall,  whose  lofty  towers  stretched  far 
away  to  the  east  and  to  the  wrest,  lay  the  high  table- 
land of  Lycaonia.  On  the  first  journey,  Paul  had 
climbed  through  this  range  of  Taurus,  between  Perga 
and  Pisidia : now  he  struck  straight  across  to  Derbe 
first.  “ There  is  no  sufficient  reason  to  think  that  he 
went  by  any  other  than  the  ordinary  road.”  There  was 


Mopsuestia  and  Adana. 


STARTING  ON  THE  SECOND  JOURNEY,  121 


one  opening  in  that  great  mountain-chain.  This  pass, 
made  as  if  the  mountains  had  been  rudely  rent  apart, 
was  the  door  through  which  peaceful  travel  and  warring 
armies,  from  ancient  times,  had  passed  between  the 
high  central  lands  within  and  the  lower  sea-plains  with- 
out. This  was  the  ancient  Cilician  Gates.  Through 
this  gorge  had  marched  the  grand  army  of  Cyrus  on 
his  way  towards  Babylon.  Alexander  the  Great,  with 
his  army,  came  down  through  these  gates  to  the  plains 
of  Cilicia.  Cicero  once  rode  through  this  craggy  de- 
file, and  wrote  back  to  his  friend  a description  of  his 
journey.  Many  an  army  had  its  fate  decided  in  this 
wild  mountain-gap.  Towards  these  Gates  of  Cilicia, 
which  admitted  them  to  the  interior  of  Asia  Minor,  the 
travellers  now  took  their  way.  They  followed  first,  no 
doubt,  the  valley  of  the  river  by  the  side  of  Tvhich  Paul 
played  in  boyhood.  Perhaps  more  than  once  Paul  had 
ridden  along  this  very  track,  in  boyhood  and  youth,  or 
even  when  preaching  in  Cilicia  after  his  conversion. 
As  you  approach  the  mountain,  “ the  hills  suddenly 
draw  together  and  form  a narrow  pass  guarded  by  pre- 
cipitous cliffs.  In  some  places  the  ravine  contracts  to 
the  width  of  ten  or  twelve  paces,  leaving  room  for  only 
a chariot  to  pass.  It  is  an  anxious  place  to  any  one  in 
command  of  a military  expedition.  The  scene  around 
is  striking  and  impressive.  A canopy  of  fir-trees  is 
high  overhead.  Hundreds  of  feet  high,  on  either  side, 
rise  the  bare  limestone  cliffs.”  IJp,  and  still  upwards, 
climb  the  travellers,  over  rocks  and  over  hills,  over  the 
confined  streams  which  sweep  the  narrow  road,  through 
forest  and  shade,  till  the  last  height  is  reached,  and  they 
come  out  on  the  open  country,  four  thousand  feet  above 
the  sea.  Turning  to  -the  left  and  the  west,  they  take 
the  road  towards  Iconium.  “As  Paul  left  the  moun- 
tain-passes, and  came  along  down  the  lower  heights, 


122 


(. EIGHTEENTH  SUNDAY.) 


his  heart,  full  of  affection  and  anxiety  all  through  the 
journey,  would  beat  more  quickly  at  the  sight  of  the 
well-known  objects  before  him.”  The  thought  of  his 
disciples,  the  recollection  of  his  friends  in  these  remote 
places,  would  come  with  new  force  upon  his  mind,  for 
now  the  tender-hearted  Apostle  was  approaching  the 
home  of  his  own  converts  of  Lycaonia.  In  the  distance 
was  the  same  well-shaped  form  of  the  Black  Mountain 
rising  out  of  the  same  wide-spreading  plain  near  which 
lay  Derbe  and  Lystria,  and  away  beyond  was  the  more 
important  city  of  Iconium.  Two  or  three  days  must 
have  been  consumed  already  since  they  left  Tarsus. 

Derbe,  the  last  place  of  the  former  journey,  is  now 
before  them.  We  can  imagine  the  joy  of  the  converts 
on  meeting  Paul ; the  inquiries  for  Barnabas  ; the  wel- 
come to  Silas ; the  questions  about  the  c brethren  ’ of 
Cilicia  and  Antioch  and  Jerusalem  ; the  reading  of  the 
letter  of  the  council ; the  c teaching  and  preaching,’  the 
encouragement  and  solemn  warning  of  Paul.  This  is 
all  we  know  of  Derbe.  No  wonderful  or  striking  event 
occurred  which  seemed  good  to  the  spirit  of  inspiration 
to  record,  although  there  may  have  been  a quiet  and 
extensive  Christian  influence  working  in  many  hearts. 
The  ^Cvork  of  God  is  noiseless  and  without  observation 
often  where  it  is  most  powerful  and  lasting. 


(. EIGHTEENTH  SUNDAY.) 


QUESTIONS. 

JTOW  long  must  Paul  and  Barnabas  have  been  in  Antioch  ? 
What  difference  was  there  between  ‘teaching’  and 
‘ preaching  ’ religious  doctrines  ? 

What  shows  that  the  church  was  large  ? 

Do  you  think  there  was  more  than  one  congregation  in 
Antioch  ? 

Who  were  the  teachers  in  Antioch  ? 

Who  had  now  departed  ? 

Why  might  some  of  these  teachers  be  spared  from  An- 
tioch ? 

What  would  Paul  naturally  think  of? 

What  did  he  propose  to  Barnabas  ? 

What  was  the  design  of  the  visit  ? 

Did  he  mean  to  go  over  the  whole  of  the  former  journey  ? 
What  does  Barnabas  answer  to  Paul’s  proposal  ? 

Did  Paul  agree  with  Barnabas  ? Why  ? 

Was  there  anything  more  than  calm  disagreement  be- 
tween them  ? 

If  they  sharply  disputed  with  each  other,  does  it  show 
that  they  were  not  good  men  ? 

What  four  reasons  can  you  give  why  Paul  should  not  take 
Mark  ? 

What  seven  reasons  can  you  give  why  Barnabas  should  wish 
to  take  Mark  ? 

What  reasons  were  there  also  from  the  position  of  the 
men  ? 

Which  one  should  have  yielded  ? 

How  was  their  dissension  overruled  ? 

What  similar  blessing  comes  from  the  division  of  the 
church  into  denominations  ? 

Do  you  suppose  the  two  Apostles  parted  in  anger  ? 

If  Christian  denominations  differ,  how  should  it  be? 
What  is  there  to  show  that  the  Antioch  Christians  took 
Paul’s  side  ? 

How  did  they  divide  the  former  journey  between  them? 


{EIGHTEENTH  SUNDAY,) 

Where  did  Barnabas  and  Mark  go  ? 

How  can  you  arrange  the  whole  of  their  former  journey 
between  them  ? 

Who  went  with  Paul  ? 

Where  did  they  go  first  ? 

What  additional  evidence  have  we  now  that  there  were 
churches  in  Cilicia  ? 

Why  was  it  a good  thing  for  Paul  to  have  Silas  with 
him  ? 

What  valley  may  they  have  first  visited  ? 

What  is  more  likely  ? 

What  gorge  would  they  pass  through  ? 

Through  what  cities  near  the  corner  of  the  sea  ? 

What  plain  did  they  strike  into  after  leaving  Issus  ? 

Is  it  probable  that  they  went  to  Tarsus  ? 

What  was  the  direct  road  to  Derbe  ? 

Where  did  Paul  cross  this  mountain  range  before  ? 

For  what  mountain-pass  did  they  strike  ? 

What  generals  had  led  their  armies  through  this  pass  ? 
What  orator  had  described  it  ? 

What  was  the  narrowest  width  of  the  pass  ? 

What  would  be  their  first  thoughts  on  reaching  the  high 
land  ? 

What  is  said  of  Derbe  ? 

How  does  the  kingdom  of  God  often  make  progress  ? 

Is  religion  any  the  less  strong  when  it  is  silent  ? 

Does  it  speak  the  less  forcibly  to  you,  when  it  speaks 
silently  ? 


(36) 


IJxmiemtlj  Sunbajr. 


A NEW  COMPANION  AND  NEW  TRAVELS. 


LESSON. 

Acts  xvi.  1-8. 

NOW  we  follow  the  missionaries  to  Lystra.  Perhaps 
others  went  wdth  them  from  Derbe.  No  miracle  is 
now  performed.  No  excited  multitude  rush  together 
to  hail  men  like  themselves  as  gods : no  fickle,  deluded 
crowd,  with  the  fury  of  a mob,  now  stone  the  man 
whom  they  had  honored  as  a god.  Quietly  and  peace- 
fully the  missionaries  did  their  work  here,  as  they  did 
at  Derbe.  Here,  however,- they  found  one  who  was  to 
go  with  them  in  their  work  and  who  Avas  to  become  of 
great  service  to  the  Church.1  Timothy  had  been  gradu- 
ally prepared  for  the  work  he  was  now  to  do.  His 
mother  had  instructed  him  in  the  holy  Scriptures  from 
childhood  ;2  and  his  grandmother  was  a woman  of  faith 
and  prayer.  He  had  grown  to  be  a young  man,  and 
had  listened  to  the  preaching  of  the  stranger,  Avho 
healed  a cripple  lame  from  his  mother’s  Avomb.  He 
was  convinced  that  Jesus  was  the  Messiah.  He  no 
doubt  saAV  Paul  stoned  by  the  brutal  mob.  He  became 
a faithful  and  earnest  disciple  of  Jesus  the  Messiah. 
He  Avas  well  knoAvn  to  all  the  brethren  of  the  place  and 
of  Iconium ; and  by  them  all  he  Avas  well  spoken  of,  as 

1 Some  persons  have  supposed  that  Timothy  was  from  Derbe,  but 
it  seems  more  probable  that  he  was  from  Lystra. 

3 II.  Timothy  L 6 ; iii.  15. 


124 


( NINETEENTH  SUN  DA  Y. j 


devoted  and  true.  Paul  saw  that  he  was  just  the  per- 
son, in  his  natural  ability,  and  in  his  earnest,  affection- 
ate consecration  to  the  Master,  to  be  of  great  service 
in  preaching.  He  found  Timothy  ready  to  go  with 
them,  and  he  determined  to  take  him.  Perhaps  Paul 
thought,  too,  that  Timothy  was  fitted  to  teach  and  to 
attract  both  Jews  and  Gentiles,  since  he  was  the  son  of 
a Greek  and  a Jewess. 

But  Timothy  himself  was  not  legally  a Jew,  and 
therefore  he  might  be  suspected  everywhere  in  the 
synagogues,  and  might  create  excitement,  trouble,  per- 
secution. To  prevent  any  difficulty  of  this  kind,  Paul 
c took  and  circumcised  him,’  so  that,  although  the  son 
of  a Jewess,  he  might  now  be  a Jew  according  to  the 
rite  of  the  law. 

But  was  not  Paul  violating  the  decree  of  the  coun- 
cil ? the  very  letter  which  he  had  brought  with  him  to 
the  church  of  Lystra?  Ho,  not  at  all.  That  decree 
said  that  the  Apostles  laid  upon  the  brethren  no  other 
burden  than  four  necessary  things.  Ho  one  need  be 
circumcised,  if  he  did  not  wish  to  be.  If  any  one 
wished  to  be,  there  was  nothing  to  prevent.  If  it 
should  be  thought  best  to  gain  influence  with  the  Jews, 
so  that  they  would  more  readily  listen  to  the  Gospel  of 
Jesus,  it  was  perfectly  proper.  At  Jerusalem  Paul  re- 
fused to  circumcise  Titus,  because  some  persons  had 
said  that  circumcision  was  necessary , if  a man  would  be 
saved — that  no  one  coidd  be  saved  vnthout  it.  That  he 
denied.  Timothy  was  already  known  and  well  spoken 
of,  as  a Christian.  Paul  circumcised  him,  not  that  he 
might  be  saved , but  that  he  might  more  directly  and 
more  effectively  influence  the  J ews. 

It  is  not  improbable  that  Timothy  was  now  ordained 
as  a preacher  of  the  Gospel  of  Jesus,  at  Lystra,  or  more 
likely  at  Iconium,  since  before  that  solemn  cetemony 


NEW  COMPANION  AND  NEW  TRAVELS.  125 


took  place,  Paul  seems  to  have  learned  from  the  breth- 
ren of  Iconium  their  opinion  of  Timothy.  In  his  let- 
ters to  Timothy  afterwards,  the  Apostle  alludes  to  the 
time  when  he  was  consecrated  to  the  work  of  the  min- 
istry 4 by  the  laying  on  of  hands.’3  The  ordination  of 
a Christian  young  man  to  the  ministry  would  add  great 
interest  to  the  visit  of  the  Apostle  to  Iconium ; and  as 
it  might  have  been  in  a private  manner,  it  could  have 
been  done  without  exciting  another  such  contention  be- 
tween two  factions  in  the  city  as  took  place  on  the 
former  visit. 

We  have  no  distinct  account  of  a visit  to  Antioch  in 
Pisidia.  Y et  we  can  hardly  suppose  that  Paul  did  not 
* in  some  way  communicate  with  the  church  there ; for 
Paul  started  with  the  intention  of  visiting  4 every  city 
where  they  had  preached  the  word  of  the  Lord.’4  If 
Paul  and  Silas  and  Timothy  remained  some  weeks  at 
Iconium,  there  would  have  been  abundant  time  to  visit 
Pisidia,  or  to  see,  more  than  once,  the  elders  and  prin- 
cipal persons  of  the  Antioch  church.  It  is  very  likely 
that  they  finished  the  circle  of  the  churches,  which  they 
meant  at  the  first  to  visit.  Possibly  that  was  all  they 
designed  to  do,  dt  starting  on  the  journey ; but  now 
they  resolved  to  carry  the  good  news  of  the  Gospel 
still  further.  The  decree  of  the  council,  which  they  had 
delivered  to  all  the  churches,  would  be  glad  news  every- 
where to  Gentiles  who  might  wish  to  obey  the  words 
of  life. 

We  know  very  little  of  the  Apostle’s  visit  through 
Phrygia  and  Galatia/  No  cities  are  mentioned.  Per- 
haps he  visited  Colosse,5  which  is  supposed  to  have  been 
in  Phrygia,  and  to  the  people  of  which  city  Paul  with 
Timothy  afterwards  wrote  a letter.5 

a I.  Timothy  iv.  14 ; II.  Timothy  i.  6. 

4 xv.  36.  6 Colossians  i.  1,  2. 


126 


(. NINETEENTH  SUNDAY.) 


The  letter  of  Paul  to  the  Galatians  tells  us  some- 
thing of  his  visit  to  their  province.  It  was  certainly  4 in 
infirmity  of  the  flesh 5 that  he  preached  the  Gospel  to 
them  4 at  the  first  y’6  and  it  has  been  thought  that  Paul 
was  sick  among  this  people,  and  that  this  accounts  for 
his  speaking  of  their  great  kindness  to  them.  He  says 
that  they  received  him  4 as  an  angel 5 or  messenger  4 of 
God,’  and  if  it  had  been  possible  they  would  have 
4 plucked  out  their  own  eyes 5 for  him.7  Whatever  was 
the  infirmity  of  the  flesh  among  the  Galatians,  he  4 set 
forth’  to  them  ‘Jesus  Christ,  the  crucified  one.’8  Some 
at  least  were  converted  ;9  and  4 some  churches  of  Gala- 
tia 510  were  added  to  the  other  established  churches  of 
Cilicia  and  Lycaonia  and  Phrygia,  before  the  little  band 
of  earnest  missionaries  left  the  province. 

As  they  journeyed  westward,  they  were  forbidden 
by  the  Holy  Spirit  to  preach  in  Asia , but  not  to  enter 
the  province.  Then  they  turned  to  the  north  towards 
Bithynia,  but  the  Holy  Spirit  forbade  them  to  enter 
that  province.  It  is  very  likely  that  Paul’s  design  was 
to  reach  some  of  the  great  cities  on  the  coast  of  the 
Archipelago,  the  emporium  of  trade  at  or  near  the  ends 
of  the  roads  through  central  Asia  Minor.  These  great 
cities  of  pro-consular  Asia,  which  afterwards  were  to 
contain  churches,  were  not  yet  to  have  the  Gospel 
preached  in  them.  Ephesus,  Smyrna,  Philadelphia, 
Sardis,  Pergamos,  Thyatira,  Laodicea,  those  seven  cities 
to  which  John  wrote  his  wonderful  letters,11  were  not 
yet  tc  spring  into  existence.  Leaving  Bithynia  on  the 
right  hand,  they  entered  Asia,  and  passed  along  the 
borders  of  Mysia,  without  preaching,  to  Troas,  one  of 
the  chief  cities  of  Mysia.12 

6 Galatians  iv.  13.  7 iv.  14,  15.  8 iii.  1.  0 iii.  27. 

10  i.  2.  11  Revelation  i.  11. 

12  It  is  very  difficult  to  fix  the  exact  geographical  boundaries  of 


NEW  COMPANION  AND  NEW  TRAVELS.  127 


N ow  Paul  strikes  into  a new  kind  of  life  : now  ho 
comes  into  the  old  classic  region.  Along  these  west- 
ern shores  of  Asia  Minor,  many  of  the  earliest  events 
of  Grecian  history  took  place,  and  there,  sprang  up  the 
races  which  had  so  much  to  do  with  forming  the  na- 
tional character  of  Greece.  The  Roman  legions  too 
shook  these  same  shores  with  the  tramp  of  war,  and 
these  petty  kingdoms  of  antiquity  were  forced  to  bend 
before  the  iron  sceptre  of  Caesar.  As  he  came  in  sight 

Galatia,  Phrygia,  Mysia,  Bithynia,  Asia,  in  the  time  of  Paul.  4 These 
boundaries  were  continually  changing,  and  these  names  implied  a 
larger  or  smaller  territory  at  one  time  than  another.’  The  province 
of  Asia  (not  the  continent)  probably  included  at  least  Mysia,  Lydia, 
and  Caria. 


128 


( NINETEENTH  SUNDAY.) 


of  the  waters  of  the  Archipelago,  he  looked  out  on 
the  sea  on  which  have  transpired  so  many  wonderful 
events  of  history  and  poetry  and  song.  He  was  near 
the  old  battle-ground  of  the  Trojan  war.  As  he 
came  near  to  Troas,  he  struck  the  well-built  national 
road  which  would  have  led  him  to  the  very  gates  of 
Rome.  Xerxes  had  stood  on  this  ground  with  his  great 
army,  on  his  way  to  be  conquered  by  the  brave  Greeks. 
Julius  Caesar  had  been  here  with  all  his  pomp  of  war. 
Alexander  the  Great,  too,  gathered  here  new  strength 
for  his  conquest.  And  all  around  him  was  the  scene  of 
Homer’s  great  poem,  Mount  Ida,  the  Simois,  and  Sca- 
mander.  Paul  was  a scholar  ; and  he  could  not  be 
without  some  knowledge  of  all  these  things  as  he  en- 
tered Troas. 


(NINETEENTH  SUNDAY.) 


QUESTIONS. 

TyTIAT  is  the  next  place  to  which  the  Apostles  go  ? 

' ' Whom  did  they  find  there  ? 

How  had  he  been  gradually  prepared  for  his  work  ? 
Was  he  well  known  at  any  other  place  ? 

What  did  the  ‘brethren’  say  of  him? 

What  did  Paul  see  in  him  ? 

Who  was  Timothy’s  father  ? 

How  would  this  help  Timothy  in  his  work  ? 

Why  was  not  Timothy  legally  a Jew  ? 

Why  did  Paul  circumcise  him  ? 

Was  not  Paul  violating  the  decree  of  the  council? 

Why  did  Paul  refuse  to  circumcise  Titus  at  Jerusalem  ? 
Was  there  any  similar  reason  now  for  refusing  to  cir- 
cumcise Timothy? 

If  Timothy’s  mother  had  been  a Greek,  would  Paul 
have  circumcised  him  ? 

If  he  had  not  circumcised  Timothy,  what  would  have 
been  the  effect  on  the  Jews  ? 

Do  you  suppose  Timothy  was  now  ordained  ? 

Can  you  prove  that  Paul  helped  ordain  Timothy  ? 

What  is  meant  by  4 the  laying  on  of  my  hands  ’ ? 

What  cities  do  you  think  are  referred  to,  in  the  fourth  verse? 
What  4 decrees  ’ were  delivered  ? 

Why  may  you  suppose  they  had  some  communication 
with  Antioch  in  Pisidia  ? 

W ould  Gentile  Christians  be  glad  to  hear  the  decree  of 
the  council  ? 

How  would  this  fact  have  helped  to  increase  the  numbers 
daily  ? 

Was  Phrygia  nearer  Antioch  in  Pisidia  or  Iconium  ? 

Where  was  Galatia? 

What  does  Paul  say  of  his  preaching  to  the  Galatians 

at  first  f 

What  has  this  been  thought  to  mean  ? 

(37) 


(NINETEENTH  SUNDAY.) 


How  do  you  know  churches  of  Galatia  must  have  been 
formed  ? 

What  especial  expressions  of  the  Galatians’  attachment 
to  Paul  are  given  ? 

In  what  direction  did  they  go  next  ? 

Why  did  they  not  preach  in  Asia  ? 

Why  did  they  turn  back  from  Mysia  ? 

Why  did  they  not  go  into  Bithynia  ? 

Where  was  Bithynia  ? 

What  was  Asia  ? 

What  did  it  probably  include  at  this  time  ? 

What  was  probably  Paul’s  object,  if  he  wished  to  preach 
in  Asia  ? 

What  churches  were  afterwards  founded  in  Asia  ? 

How  could  they  pass  by  Mysia,  and  yet  come  to  Troas  ? 

In  entering  Mysia,  were  they  not  violating  the  command 
not  to  preach  in  Asia  ? 

Is  the  Holy  Spirit  as  really  present  to  guide  believers 
now,  as  he  was  to  show  Paul  his  course  ? 

To  what  place  did  the  Apostles  come  ? Why  4 came 
down  ’ ? 

What  region  was  Paul  now  entering  ? 

For  what  events  are  these  shores  famous  ? 

What  road  did  they  strike  near  this  place  ? 

What  old  battle-ground  was  supposed  to  be  near  ? 

What  great  generals  had  been  here  ? 

The  scene  of  what  famous  poem  was  here  ? 

Do  you  suppose  Paul  knew  anything  of  these  things  ? 

What  greater  purpose  had  he  than  any  who  had  pre- 
ceded him  there  ? 

(38) 


C&mtidfj  Sxmfrag. 


FROM  ASIA  TO  EUROPE. 


LESSOR-. 

Acts  xvi.  9-15. 

AT  Troas,  Paul  looked  out  over  the  island-sea.  He 
saw  the  high  lands  which  rose  from  the  islands  of 
Tenedos  and  Imbros,  in  the  north- west.  Possibly,  when 
the  sun  went  down  behind  the  distant  line  of  the  sea, 
broken  here  and  there  by  an  islafli,  he  could  see,  over 
Tenedos  and  Imbros,  the  higher  hills  of  Samothrace, 
and  further  to  the  west,  the  lofty  Mount  Athos,  on  the 
very  coast  of  Europe,  the  long  promontory  on  which  it 
is  stretching  miles  out  into  the  sea  towards  Asia. 

What  must  have  been  the  thought  of  the  earnest 
Apostle,  filled  with  zeal  for  his  Master,  as  he  looked 
over  the  waters  towards  another  great  continent  ! 
Would  the  Gospel  be  preached  in  that  distant  country? 
How  he  would  long  to  preach  it  -there  himself.  He 
had  been  forbidden  to  preach  in  ‘Asia.’  Perhaps  there 
was  a work  for  him  to  do,  in  the  distant  and  4 miserable 
heathenism 5 of  Europe.  Thoughts  like  these  would 
be  natural  to  Paul.  And  in  the  night,  there  was  a vis- 
ion of  ti  man  from  the  distant  Macedonia,  urging  the 
spiritual  wants  of  his  country.  It  was  a vision  sent  of 
God  to  show  him  his  work.  The  breaking  morning  af- 
ter that  eventful  night,  found  the  Apostle  ready  to  take 
the  suggestions  of  the  Spirit  as  his  rule  of  life.  Per- 


130  ( TWENTIETH  SUNDAY.) 

haps  in  the  east  the  sun  rose,  as  in  the  description  of 
Virgil : 

“And  now  the  day-star  was  rising  from  the  summit  of  lofty  Ida, 
And  was  leading  on  the  day.”  1 


The  islands  of  the  sea  were  illumined,  and  the  waters 
sparkled  in  the  light.  Four  travellers  might  have  been 
seen  at  the  shipping  of  the  harbor,  seeking  passage  to 


iEneid  ii.  801. 


FROM  ASIA  TO  EUROPE, 


131 


Europe.  The  ship  on  which  they  embarked,  ‘ loosed  ’ 
from  port  and  c sailed  before  the  wind  ’ 2 to  Samothraee. 
When  God  gives  direction,  all  things  are  propitious. 
Once  out  of  the  harbor,  Tenedos,  with  its  fables  of 
refuge  for  th£  Grecian  fleet  and  of  the  wooden  horse, 
in  the  story  of  the  Trojan  war,  was  on  the  left : the 
coast  of  Mysia  on  the  right.  On  they  glide,  past  the 
Hellespont,  the  scene  of  so  many  real  and  fancied  ex- 
ploits, while  deep  under  the  water  on  the  opposite  side, 
between  Tenedos  and  Imbros,  was  said  to  be  the  cave 
of  the  great  Sea-God,  and  on  the  high  summit  of  the 
island  to  which  they  go,  is  Neptune’s  throne,  overlook- 
ing all  the  sea.  Perhaps  the  sailors  told  over  these 
fables,  as  they  guided  the  ship.  To  Paul  they  were 
c vanities,’  and  only  showed  him  the  foolishness  of  the 
wisdom  of  man  — the  wild  vagaries  of  mind  to  which 
Greeks  and  Homans  bowed  down  to  worship. 

Samothraee  has  a high  shore,  and  under  it  the  ship 
anchored  for  the  night.  It  is  not  probable  that  the 
Apostles  went  on  shore  here.  Their  work  lay  further 
on.  It  is  well,  however,  to  notice  that  this  island  took 
its  name  from  the  country  near  which  it  lay.  It  was 
Samos  of  Thrace,  (Samo-Thrace,)  to  distinguish  it  from 
another  Samos,  famous  in  history,  off  the  coast  of  Ephe- 
sus. The  next  day,  a few  hours  brought  the  little  com- 
pany of  missionaries  into  the  channel  between  the  island 
of  Thasos  and  the  shore,  and  then  to  Neapolis.  The 
shore,  unlike  that  of  Samothraee,  is  low.  The  Apostle 
does  not  seem  to  stop  at  Neapolis.  The  town  was  the 
sea-port  of  Philippi.  As,  therefore,  in  Syria,  he  preached 
at  Antioch,  and  not  at  Seleucia,  so  he  goes  directly  to 
‘ the  chief  city  ’ of  the  region.3  The  distance  from 

2 To  sail  in  ‘ a straight  course  ’ must  have  been,  of  course,  to  sail 
with  the  wind ; and  the  wind  must  have  been  in  the  south-east. 

3 Philippi  was  not  the  chief  city.  The  margin  has  it,  more  correct- 


132 


(: TWENTIETH  SUNDAY.) 


Neapolis  to  Philippi  is  about  ten  miles,  and  the  road 
across  a range  of  high  hills.  When  we  reach  the  high 
‘ground,  “an  extensive  and  magnificent  sea-view  is 
opened  towards  the  south.”  We  see  Neptune’s  throne 
on  Samothrace,  in  the  south-east : we  see  the  broader 
island  of  Thasos  just  in  front,  while  far  to  the  south, 
highest  of  all,  towers  Mount  Athos,  on  its  long  penim 
sula.  Turning  our  backs  on  this  delightful  view,  we 
begin  the  descent  on  the  other  side  of  the  ridge  ; and 
now  we  see  a “ plain,  level  as  an  inland  sea,  and  which, 
if  the  eye  could  reach  it  all,  would  be  seen  winding  far 
within  its  mountain-enclosure,  to  the  west  and  north.” 
It  is  either  “ exuberantly  green,”  from  its  famous  fruit- 
fulness of  soil,  if  it  is  summer,  or  “ cold  and  dreary  ” if 
winter.  This  is  the  memorable  plain  of  Philippi.  “ The 
whole  region  around  is  eloquent  of  the  history  of  the 
last  battle  of  the  Roman  republic.  On  some  part  of 
this  very  ridge,  were  the  camps  of  Brutus  and  Cassius. 
The  stream  before  us,  is  the  river  which  passed  in  front 
of  them.  Below  us  is  the  marsh  by  which  Antony 
crossed,  as  he  approached  his  antagonist.  Directly  op- 
posite is  the  hill  of  Philippi,  where  Cassius  died.  Be- 
hind us  is  the  sea,  across  which  Brutus  sent  the  body 
of  Cassius  to  the  island  of  Thasos,  lest  his  death  should 
dishearten  the  army  before  the  final  struggle.  The  city 
of  Philippi  was  itself  a monument  of  the  end  of  that 
struggle.  And  now  a Jewish  Ap'ostle  had  come  to  the 
same  place,  to  win  a greater  victory  than  that  of  Philip- 
pi, and  to  found  a more  durable  empire  than  that  of 
Augustus.” 

Philippi  was  ca  colony.’  What  is  meant  by  this 
expression?  A Roman  colony  was  a very  different 
thing  from  what  we  think  of  as  an  English  colony  in 

ly,  the  first  city,  that  is,  the.  first  city  to  which  they  came.  Thessa- 
lonica  was  the  chief  city,  the  greatest  of  all  in  Macedonia. 


FROM  ASIA  TO  EUROPE . 


103 


our  time : a company  gathered  in  almost  any  loose 
manner,  and  going  out  to  Australia,  to  Hudson’s  Bay, 
or  to  India,  to  settle  the  country ; or  like  the  colonies 
of  Virginia  or  Carolina,  two  centuries  ago.  The  Ro- 
mans divided  the  world  into  two  classes  of  people, 
Romans  and  Hot-Romans,  or  more  proudly,  into  ‘citi- 
zens ’ and  c strangers.’  When  a colony  was  to  be 
formed,  a certain  number  of  citizens  went  from  Rome, 
in  stately  form,  like  an  army,  and  either  took  possession 
of  a town  already  built,  or  laid  out  a town  for  them- 
selves. This  town  they  fortified,  and  they  themselves 
were  the  garrison.  In  all  the  pride  of  Roman  citizens, 
in  the  midst  of  a population  of  c strangers,’  they  estab- 
lished the  laws  and  customs  of  Rome.  They  aimed  to 
make  the  city  c a miniature  resemblance  of  Rome.’  The 
banners  and  the  ensigns  of  Rome  were  hung  out ; the 
fasces  and  the  toga,  the  magistrates  and  the  lictors 
were  seen.  • “ Every  traveller  who  passed  through  a 
colony,  saw  the  insignia  of  the  Imperial  city.  He  heard 
the  Latin  language  and  was  responsible  strictly  to  the 
Roman  law.”  The  coin  had  Latin  inscriptions,  even  if 
the  city  were  in  a Hebrew  or  a Greek  or  an  Egyptian 
province.  This  was  the  c colony.’  It  was  designed  to 
be  a strong  military  outpost  to  establish  and  to  secure 
the  authority  of  the  great  empire.  After  a time,  some 
of  the  native  inhabitants  of  the  conquered  town  would 
gradually  be  united  with  the  Romans,  and  they  then 
formed  part  of  the  colony. 

Every  native  c citizen,’  and  every  adopted  c citizen,’ 
had  certain  rights,  among  which  three  were  esteemed 
]3erhaps  the  greatest  of  all  his  privileges.  He  was  never 
to  be  scourged  : he  was  not  to  be  arrested , except  in  ex- 
treme cases  : he  had  the  right  to  appeal , when  he  thought 
he  was  unjustly  treated  in  the  courts,  from  the  magis- 
trate to  the  Emperor . c Strangers  ’ possessed  none  of 


134 


( TWENTIETH  SUNDAY.) 


these  rights  ; and  it  was  not  an  easy  thing  to  become  a 
4 citizen.’  We  shall  soon  see  how  Panl  claimed  for  him- 
self two  of  these  rights,  what  advantage  they  were  to 
him,  and  what  rebuke  they  were  to  his  persecutors ; 
and  hereafter,  we  shall  see  how  he  claimed  the  third 
right. 

Romans  and  Greeks  mingled  in  the  colony  of  Philip- 
pi ; but  there  were  few  Jews  in  the  city.  The  Jews 
are  a trafficking  people  ; and  this  was  a military,  and  not* 
a mercantile  city.  We  find  no  synagogue  in  Philippi, 
but  only  a place  of  prayer  by  the  river-side.  The  Jews 
in  strange  cities,  when  they  could  have  no  synagogue, 
were  accustomed  to  build  a 4 house  of  prayer,’  44  a slight 
and  temporary  structure,  often  open  to  the  sky.”  Prob- 
ably for  the  sake  of  the  ablutions  connected  with  the 
worship,  these  houses  were  by  the  sea  or  near  a river. 
In  Philippi,  the  4 house  of  prayer  ’ was  outside  the  gate, 
and  by  the  river-side.  It  may  be  that  the  assembly 
was  composed  only  of  women.  Women  only  are  men- 
tioned, and  these  are  not  all  native  Jews.  Lydia,  at 
least,  is  a proselyte.  She  is  from  Thyatira,  a city  of  the 
province  of  Asia.  She  is  a seller  of  purple  ; that  is,  her 
business  is  connected  with  the  art  of  dyeing  that  par- 
ticular color,  which  Homer  mentions  as  produced  in  the 
region  of  Thyatira,  and  which  is  known  to  have  ren- 
dered that  city  famous.  44  In  this  unpretending  place, 
and  to  this  congregation  of  pious  women,  the  Gospel 
was  first  preached  in  Europe.  The  missionary  party 
came  up  from  Neapolis  in  the  early  part  of  the  week, 
for  it  would  seem  that  there  were  4 certain  days  ’ before 
4 the  Sabbath.’  On  that  day  the  strangers  went  and 
joined  the  little  company  of  worshippers  at  their  prayer 
by  the  river-side.  They  4 sat  down  and  spoke,’  thus 
assuming  the  attitude  of  teachers.” 

The  simple-hearted  Lydia  believed  that  Jesus  is  Mes- 


FROM  ASIA  TO  EUROPE . 


135 


siah  and  Saviour,  and  was  baptized.  c Her  household  ’ 
also  are  baptized.  . Family  religion  quickly  follows 
faith  in  Jesus,  in  the  simple  and  sincere  heart.  Another 
effect,  too,  follows  from  genuine  piety : genuine  hospi- 
tality. The  house,  as  well  as  the  heart  of  Lydia,  was 
opened.  With  a generous  and  loving  care  for  her  re- 
ligious benefactors,  and  with  gratitude  to  the  Great  Mas- 
ter who  sent  them,  she  constrained  the  little  band  of 
good  men  to  make  her  house  their  home.  What  a peace- 
ful and  beautiful  picture  is  this,  of  Lydia  and  her  house- 
hold, in  their  simplicity  and  purity  and  artless  faith ! 
How  the  soft  and  holy  influence  of  Christian  woman- 
hood sanctifies,  how  the  sacred  instruction  of  these 
great  and  good  men  exalts,  how  the  very  atmosphere 
of  peace  and  quietness  pervades  the  united  family  of 
friends  and  guests.  We  can  hardly  help  thinking  of 
the  peace  and  the  hospitality  and  the  instruction  of  the 
Palace  Beautiful,  in  the  path  of  Bunyan’s  pilgrim. 
How  wide  the  contrast  between  this  picture  and  that 
picture  of  religion  which  the  Roman  poet,  Horace, 
sketches  for  us,  in  this  very  same  region,  by  the  side  of 
a neighboring  river  : “ The  Edonian  matrons,  in  frantic 
excitement,  wandering,  under  the  name  of  religion, 
with  dishevelled  hair  and  violent  cries,  on  the  banks  of 
the  Strymon.” 

It  may  have  been  Lydia,  so  quick  to  show  her  faith 
by  her  works,  who,  afterwards  returning  to  her  native 
place,  aided  in  the  establishment  of  that  church  to  which 
the  Apostle  John  wrote  in  the  Revelation,  and  which 
he  3ommended  for  “ works,  and  charity,  and  service, 
and  faith,  and  patience.”  4 

4 Revelation  ii.  18,  19. 


( TWENTIETH  SUNDAY.) 


aUESTIO^S. 

TWHAT  could  Paul  see  from  Troas? 

* * What  would  he  think  of  and  desire  ? 

Was  he  intending  to  preach  in  Troas? 

What  occurred  in  the  night  ? 

Where  was  Macedonia  ? 

How  did  Paul  regard  this  vision  ? 

What  does  4 assuredly  gathering  ’ mean  ? 

What  poet  has  given  a description  of  sun-rise  here  ? 
Who  were  the  four  travellers  ? 

How  do  you  know  there  were  four  ? 

Could  they  sail  exactly  in  a straight  course  to  Samo- 
thrace  ? 

What  does  the  expression  mean  ? 

What  story  was  connected  with  Tenedos  ? 

What  with  the  sea  between  Tenedos  and  Imbros  ? 
Whose  throne  was  fabled  to  be  on  Samothrace  ? 

Why  do  you  think  that  the  vessel  anchored  at  Samothrace 
for  the  night  ? 

What  does  the  name  of  this  island  mean  ? 

Where  did  they  land  the  next  day  ? 

What  was  Neapolis  ? 

Why  didn’t  they  stop  here  to  preach  ? 

What  does  the  4 chief  city  ’ mean  ? 

What  was  the  chief  city  ? 

What  is  the  plain  of  Philippi  memorable  for? 

What  was  Philippi  ? 

How  did  the  Romans  divide  the  world  ? 

How  did  the  Greeks  divide  it  ? 

What  was  the  Jewish  division  ? 

How  was  a Roman  colony  formed  ? 

What  did  the  ‘citizens’  aim  to  make  the  city? 

What  signs  of  Roman  power  were  seen  ? 

What  was  the  design  of  forming  a colony  ? 

Could  foreigners  become  Roman  citizens  ? How  ? 1 

1 See  page  5. 

(39) 


( TWENTIETH  SUNDAY.) 


What  were  three  great  rights  of  a Roman  citizen  ? 

Were  there  many  Jews  in  Philippi  ? 

What  shows  it  ? 

What  was  the  4 house  of  prayer  ’ ? 

Why  was  it  built  by  the  river-side  ? 

Who  composed  this  assembly  ? 

What  would  have  been  thought  by  the  people  of  a 
preacher  who  would  seek  such  an  audience  ? 

Who  was  Lydia  ? 

For  what  was  her  native  city  famous  ? 

At  what  time  in  the  week  did  the  Apostles  reach  Phi- 
lippi ? 

What  does  4 sat  down  and  spake  ’ show  ? 

If  Lydia  4 worshipped  God  ’ before  Paul  came,  was  she 
not  God’s  child  ? » 

Who  only  can  4 open  the  heart,’  to  make  a person  God’s 
child? 

When  a person  really  begins  to  4 attend  unto  religious 
things,’  what  does  it  show  ? 

What  is  meant  by  4 household  ’ ? 

What  is  the  natural  result  of  conversion  in  a father  or 
mother  ? 

What  is  another  natural  effect  ? 

What  characteristics  can  you  mention  of  Lydia’s  char- 
acter ? 

What  characteristics  of  the  family  and  guests  at  this 
time? 

What  two  other  pictures  by  what  two  other  authors  ? 

Where  was  the  river  Strymon  ? 

Is  Thyatira  mentioned  elsewhere  in  the  Scripture  ? 

What  may  Lydia  have  done  ? 

In  the  Apostle  John’s  praise  of  the  church  there,  can 
you  see  anything  of  Lydia’s  character  ? 

(40) 


faMxdg-ixt&i  Smtrajr* 


ROMAN  LA¥„ 


LESSON. 

Acts  xvi.  16-39. 

THE  quiet  of  the  little  company  in  the  house  of  Lydia 
was  not  to  continue.  The  Apostle  was  soon  to 
come  into  direct  conflict  with  the  power  of  Roman  law 
in  the  4 colony and  that  strong  law  was  soon  to  estab- 
lish his  independent  rights. 

It  is  to  be  carefully  noticed  now,  that  the  first  perse- 
cution in  Europe  is  very  different  from  those  which 
Paul  had  endured  in  Asia  Minor.  At  Antioch  in  Pisidia, 
at  Iconium,  at  Lystra,  it  was  the  Jews  who  persecuted 
Paul ; but  there  were  no  Jews  in  the  persecution  at 
Philippi.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Philippians  persecuted 
the  Apostles,  in  part  because  they  were  Jews . Before, 
the  conflict  had  been  between  Christianity  and  Jewish 
prejudice ; now,  it  was  between  Christianity  and  pure 
paganism — a paganism  established  and  secured  by  all 
the  cultivation  and  power  of  two  great  and  wise  na- 
tions. To  understand  how  this  conflict  was  brought 
about,  we  must  know  something  of  one  form  of  pagan 
superstition. 

44  In  the  lively  imagination  of  the  Greeks,  the  whole 
visible  and  invisible  world  was  peopled  with  spiritual 
powers.”  These  were  called  demons . The  Greeks 
thought  them  good  as  well  as  evil.  Some  have  believed 
“ that  a wicked  spiritual  agency  was  really  exerted  in 


ROMAN  LAW. 


137 


their  prophetic  sanctuaries  and  their  prophets.”  The 
Greeks  and  Romans  declared  that  the  strange  motions 
made  by  these  prophets,  and  the  words  of  their  oracles, 
and  the  other  indications  of  spiritual  power,  were  the 
work  of  Apollo,  or  of  Python , as  he  was  sometimes 
called.  There  was  a great  variety  of  these  manifesta- 
tions, and  they  were  often  seen.  These  diviners  or 
soothsayers  or  ventriloquists,  therefore,  were  said  to 
be  possessed  of  the  spirit  of  Python . “ Sometimes 

those  supposed  to  be  possessed  of  this  spirit  were  of 
the  highest  rank  of  society;  sometimes  they  went  about 
the  streets  like  insane  impostors  of  the  lowest  rank.” 
As  the  people  valued  their  ravings  and  wild  mutterings 
enough  to  pay  money  for  them,  these  miserable  persons 
were  sometimes  used  for  gain.  Very  often  they  were 
slaves.  Such  a slave  might  be  of  high  value  to  a man 
who  cared  nothing  for  religion  nor  for  wicked  decep- 
tion nor  for  the  misery  of  the  poor  wretches  who  were 
either  lunatic  or  really  possessed  by  the  evil  spirit. 
The  value  of  such  a demoniac  slave  was  so  great  at 
times,  that  two  or  more  persons  were  partners  in  own- 
ing the  property.  This  was  the  case  of  the  ‘ female 
slave  ’ possessed  with  a spirit  of  Python 1 at  Philippi. 
She  was  owned  by  two  masters  or  more,  who  from  her 
ravings  made  c much  profit.’  “ We  all  know  the  kind 
of  sacredness  with  which  the  ravings  of  common  insan- 
ity are  apt  to  be  regarded  by  the  ignorant ; and  we  can 
easily  understand  the  notoriety  which  the  gestures  and 
words  of  this  demoniac  would  obtain  in  Philippi.  It 
was  far  from  a matter  of  indifference,  when  she  met  the 
members  of  the  Christian  congregation  on  the  road  to 
the  house  of  prayer,  and  began  to  follow  Paul  and  to 
cry : (either  because  some  words  she  had  overheard 
mingled  with  her  diseased  imagination,  or  because 

1 See  the  margin  in  the  reference  Bible. 


138 


{TWENTY-FIRST  SUNDAY.) 


evil  spirit  in  her  was  compelled  to  speak  the  truth :) 
4 These  men  are  the  servants  (bondmen)  of  the  Most 
High  God,  who  are  come  to  announce  to  you  the  way 
of  salvation.’  ” 44  The  whole  city  must  soon  have  been 

familiar  with  her  new  cry,”  for  she  continued  it  several 
days.  Paul  knew  this,  and  he  could  not  endure  that 
the  pure  religion  of  Jesus  should  be  contaminated  by 
such  unholy  assistance.  Their  preaching,  and  the  wor- 
ship by  the  river-side  were  better  without  such  testi- 
mony. While  he  pitied  the  poor  demoniac,  he  remem- 
bered the  words  of  the  Master,  4 In  my  name  they  shall 
-cast  out  devils,’  (demons.)  When  44  he  could  bear  the 
Satanic  interruption  no  longer,”  grieved  at  heart,  and 
in  the  name  of  Jesus  the  Messiah,  he  commanded  the 
evil  spirit  to  come  out  of  her. 

With  the  healing  of  the  mind  and  of  the  spirit  of  this 
poor  slave,  the  wicked  masters  lost  their  gain.  En- 
raged, they  dragged  Paul  and  Silas  into  the  forum — 
the  open  court  or  market-place,  like  the  open  squares 
used  in  some  of  our  cities  for  market-places.  Timothy 
and  Luke  were  not  taken.  Paul  was  the  man  that 
wrought  the  cure.  Silas  was  Paul’s  intimate  compan- 
ion. Perhaps  Timothy  and  Luke  were  not  with  Paul 
and  Silas  on  that  day.  Paul  and  Silas  were  quickly 
dragged  (as  Paul  himself  hauled  men  and  women  to 
prison  2)  44  before  the  Prcetors ,”  or  magistrates. 

44  The  excited  complainants  must  have  felt  some  diffi- 
culty in  stating  their  complaint.  The  slave  that  had 
lately  been  such  a lucrative  possession  had  suddenly 
become  valueless,  but  the  law  had  no  remedy  for  de- 
stroying the  value  of  property  by  the  casting  out  of 
spirits.  The  true  state  of  the  case  was  therefore  con- 
cealed, and  an  accusation  laid  before  the  Praetors  in  the 
fallowing  form : 4 These  men  are  throwing  the  wholo 

2 See  note  2,  page  22. 


ROMAN  LA  W. 


139 


city  into  confusion ; moreover,  they  are  J ews ; and 
they  are  attempting  to  introduce  new  religious  observ- 
ances, which  we,  being  Roman  citizens,  cannot  receive 
and  adopt.’  ” Dividing  the  accusation  into  the  three 
parts,  we  can  easily  see  what  was  true  and  what  was 
false.  “ It  was  quite  false  that  Paul  and  Silas  were 
disturbing  the  city,  for  nothing  could  have  been  more 
calm  and  orderly  than  their  worship  and  teaching  at 
the  house  of  Lydia,  or  at  the  place  of  prayer  by  the 
water-side.”  It  was  true  that  they  were  Jews.  There 
was  cunning  and  spite  in  accusing  them  of  this ; for 
“ the  Jews  were  generally  hated,  suspected,  and  de- 
spised, and  had  lately  been  driven  out  of  Rome  in  con- 
sequence of  an  uproar.”  The  citizens  of  the  colony, 
too,  would  think  it  their  duty  “ to  copy  the  indignation 
of  the  mother  city.”  It  was  true,  too,  that  Paul  and 
Silas  were  indirectly  violating  the  law.  “ The  Roman 
law  condemned  the  introduction  of  foreign  religions, 
especially  such  changes  in  worship  as  wer^likely  to  un- 
settle the  minds  of  the  citizens,  or  to  produce  any  tu- 
multuous uproar.  Paul  and  Silas  had  undoubtedly 
been  doing  what  in  some  degree  exposed  them  to  legal 
penalties,  and  were  beginning  a change  which  tended 
to  bring  down,  and  which  at  length  did  bring  down 
the  whole  weight  of  the  Roman  Law  on  the  Christian 
martyrs.”  We  can  see,  then,  why  cthe  multitude  rose 
up.’  A wonderful  slave  had  lost  her  spirit  of  prophecy  : 
the  cause  of  wonder  and  excitement  and  curiosity  had 
been  taken  away : the  hated  Jews  had  done  it:  they 
were  breaking  the  law  of  ‘ the  colony.’  The  excited 
crowd  rose  into  a mob.  The  Pra3tors,  if  they  would 
be  popular,  must  not  hesitate.  It  was  no  time  to  think 
of  further  proof.  The  rough  form  of  the  Roman  sen- 
tence was  pronounced : c Go,  lictors : strip  off  their  gar - 


140 


( TWENTY-FIRST  SUNDAY.) 


merits : 3 let  them  be  scourged .’  44  The  order  was 

promptly  obeyed,  and  the  heavy  blows  descended.” 
The  Roman  scourging  was  much  more  severe  than  the 
Jewish,  and  the  Apostles  received  4 many  stripes.’ 
44  Bleeding  and  faint  from  the  rod,”  the  jailer  was  told 
4 to  keep  them  safely.’  44  Not  content  with  placing  the 
Apostles  among  other  common  offenders  in  the  jail,  he 
thrust  them  4 into  the  inner  prison,’  and  then  forced 
their  limbs,  lacerated  as  they  were  and  bleeding  from 
the  scourge,  into  a painful  and  constrained  posture  by 
means  of  an  instrument  used  to  confine  and  torture  the 
bodies  of  the  worst  malefactors.  We  must  picture  to 
ourselves  something  very  different  from  the  rough  com- 
fort of  an  American  jail.  The  inner  prisons  of  the  an- 
cients were  rather  pestilential  cells,  damp  and  cold, 
from  which  the  light  was  excluded,  and  where  the 
chains  rusted  on  the  limbs  of  the  prisoners.” 

But  cruel  as  was  the  scourging,  cold  and  hard  as 
were  the  piiison-walls,  the  spirit  of  joyfulness  was  in 
the  hearts  of  these  good  men.  Sleepless  because  of 
their  pain  and  fatigue,  with  heart  and  voice,  they  sung 
praises  to  God.  What  they  sung,  we  do  not  know, 
but  it  would  be  strange  if,  at  such  a time,  the  Psalms 
of  David  did  not  rise  to  the  lips  of  a Jew.  How  com- 
forting and  how  hopeful  would  have  been  such  words 
as  these,  chanted  in  the  Hebrew  manner  : 

“ The  Lord  loose th  the  prisoners : 

The  Lord  raiseth  them  that  are  bowed  down  : 

The  Lord  loveth  the  righteous : 

8 “ It  is  quite  a mistake  to  suppose  that  the  magistrates  rent  their 
own  garments,  like  the  high -priest  at  Jerusalem.”  That  was  a Jewish , 
not  a Roman  custom.  “ Some  commentators  think  the  magistrates 
tore  off  the  garments  of  Paul  and  Silas  with  their  own  hands,  but 
that  is  not  necessary.”  It  is  more  piobable  that  they  gave  the  cus- 
tomary order  to  the  lictors,  their  attendants. 


ROMAN  LAW. 


141 


The  Lord  preserveth  the  strangers, 

But  the  way  of  the  wicked,  he  turneth  upside  down.”  4 

44  Let  the  sighing  of  the  prisoner  come  before  thee : 
According  to  the  greatness  of  thy  power, 

• Preserve  thou  those  appointed  to  die.”  5 

“Attend  unto  my  cry, 

For  I am  brought  very  low 
Deliver  me  from  my  persecutors. 

For  they  are  stronger  than  I. 

Bring  my  soul  out  of  prison, 

That  I may  praise  thy  name.”  6 

44  Happy  is  he  that  hath  the  God  of  Jacob  for  his  help. 

Whose  hope  is  in  the  Lord  his  God.”  7 

The  other  prisoners  heard  them.  Slaves,  debtors, 
robbers,  murderers  perhaps  listened  to  the  cheerful 
songs  of  the  new  prisoners.  These  were  strange  crimi- 
nals : these  were  new  sounds  echoing  out  on  the  night- 
air  from  the  inner  prison.  These  must  be  good  men, 
too,  who,  bleeding  from  the  scourge  and  at  midnight, 
sing  praises  to  God.  The  very  songs  of  Paul  and  Silas 
preached  their  religion  to  their  fellow-prisoners.  Who 
can  say  that  some  of  these  very  prisoners  did  not  after- 
wards believe  in  the  Saviour,  because  new  hopes  and 
new  desires  were  awakened  by  what  they  that  night 
heard  and  saw  ? It  may  be  that  the  earthquake  oc- 
curred just  as  the  Apostles  were  finishing  8 those  other 
words  of  the  Psalmist : 

“ He  brought  them  out  of  darkness 
And  the  shadow  of  death, 

And  brake  their  bonds  in  sunder. 

4 Psalm  cxlvi.  *7-9.  5 lxxix.  11.  6 cxlii.  6,  7. 

7 cxlvi.  5.  The  whole  cxlvi.  would  have  been  most  appropriate 
and  comforting. 

b The  tense  of  the  Greek  verb  signifies  that  they  continued  to  sing, 

and  the  prisoners  continued  to  listen.  44  The  Apostles  were  singing 

and  the  prisoners  were  listening , when  the  earthquake  came.” 


142 


{TWENTY-FIRST  SUNDAY.) 


Oh ! that  men  would  praise  the  Lord 

For  his  goodness  and  for  his  wonderful  works 

To  the  children  of  men ; 

For  he  hath  broken  the  gates  of  brass 
And  cut  the  bars  of  iron  in  sunder.”  9 

The  iron  bars  and  the  gates  were  broken  asunder  by 
that  God  to  whom  they  sung  and  prayed.  And  they 
were  free  to  go. 

But  there  was  something  more  dreadful  than  earth- 
quake to  the  prison-keeper.  “ By  the  Roman  law,  the 
jailer  was  to  undergo  the  same  punishment  which  the 
malefactors  who  escaped  were  to  have  suffered.”  What 
was  his  consternation  when,  awakened  out  of  his  sleep, 
he  saw  the  doors  open.  He  at  once  supposed  the  pris- 
oners had  fled.  Inevitable  death  must  be  his  fate.  Su- 
icide was  better  than  such  disgrace.  u Philippi  is  fa- 
mous in  the  annals  of  suicide.”  The  jailer  would  have 
added  his  name  to  the  list  of  Cassius,  Brutus,  Titinius, 
and  many  others  who  rashly  died  by  their  own  hand 
after  the  great  battle  of  Philippi,  had  not  Paul’s  loud 
voice  reached  him.  Instead  of  death,  he  found  spiritual 
life.  Startled,  trembling,  remembering  his  crimes,  his 
eagerness  to  cast  the  persecuted  men  into  the  inner 
prison,  the  near  approach  of  death  and  his  unfitness  to 
die,  and  recalling,  too,  perhaps,  that  the  very  cause  of 
all  the  persecution  of  these  good  men,  was  that  the  de- 
moniac had  said  they  taught  a way  of  salvation , he 
sprang  in  with  a light  and  fell  down  before  his  prison- 
ers, to  ask  that  all-important  question  : c What  must  I 
do  to  be  saved  ? 5 Believe  on  Jesus  as  your  Lord  and 
as  the  Messiah,  was  the  faithful  answer.  Like  Lydia, 
his  heart  was  opened  to  hear  and  to  believe.  Like 
Lydia,  he  and  his  house  were  baptized.  Family  reli- 
gion again  followed  piety  in  the  head  of  the  household. 


9 Psalm  cvii.  14-16. 


ROMAN  LAW. 


143 


Christian  hospitality  followed  next.  cHe  washed  the 
stripes’  of  the  wounded  and  bruised  men.  He  brought 
them  out  of  the  wretched  ceil  into  his  house  ; he  gave 
them  food ; and  there  was  great  rejoicing  that  night. 
The  Gospel  had  a second  home  in  Europe. 

On  reflection,  the  magistrates  became  convinced  of 
the  rashness  and  irregularity  of  their  proceedings  ; or 
perhaps  they  heard  that  the  Jews  cast  out  the  spirit 
because  the  slave  cried  after  them ; or  the  earthquake 
may  have  alarmed  them.  At  any  rate,  in  the  morning, 
they  sent  a new  order  by  the  lictors  10  to  the  jailer. 
Evidently  they  feared  lest  some  authority  from  Rome 
might  inquire  into  the  accusations  against  the  prisoners, 
and  the  regularity  of  yesterday’s  trial.  ‘ Let  those  men 
go ,’ 11  is  the  contemptuous  expression.  The  jailer  was 
full  of  joy. 

But  now  it  was  Paul’s  turn.  Now  he  claims  his 
rights*  as  a Roman  citizen.  If  he  had  violated  Roman 
law  in  one  thing,  the  magistrates  had  violated  it  in  two 
other  far  more  important  points.  They  had  arrested 
two  Roman  citizens  on  the  mere  outcry  of  the  peo- 
ple, and,  with  hardly  the  forms  of  a trial,  had  hastily 
passed  sentence  on  them.  They  had  scourged  two  Ro- 
man citizens . The  reply  of  Paul  is  therefore  the  noble 
assertion  of  his  just  rights.  The  magistrates  had  done 
a great  wrong  : Let  them  come  and  make  it  right.  It 
was  the  time  for  the  magistrates  to  tremble.  Should 
their  crime  become  known  at  Rome,  as  Paul  himself 
might  make  it  known,  they  would  certainly  lose  their 
power,  if  they  would  not  be  most  severely  punished  ; 

10  The  word  ‘ sergeant/  means  here  1 rod-holders,’  lictors , the  at- 
tendant officers  of  the  magistrate. 

11  It  might  be  translated,  Let  those  fellows  go . 


144 


(: TWENTY-FIRST  SUNDAY.) 


for  their  rashness  had  put  the  whole  majesty  of  the  law 
in  peril.  With  servile  humiliation,  quite  the  contrast 
of  their  yesterday’s  presumption,  they  came  privately 
and  besought  their  abused  prisoners  to  go  quietly  from 
the  city. 


{TWENTY-FIRST  SUNDAY.) 


QUESTIONS. 

1WHAT  is  this  lesson  the  account  of  ? 

' " What  difference  is  there  between  the  Philippian  persecu- 
tion and  those  in  Asia  Minor  ? 

What  two  things  had  been  in  conflict  before  ? What 
two  now  ? 

What  was  a demon  f 

What  is  meant  by  ‘ the  spirit  of  Python  ’ ? 

Why  were  demoniac  slaves  thought  valuable  property  ? 
What  shows  that  this  1 damsel  ’ was  held  as  very  val- 
uable ? • 

What  is  meant  in  the  margin  by  ‘ of  divination  ’ ? 

What  harm  did  her  outcries  do  ? 

How  do  you  explain  the  way  in  which  she  had  learned 
what  she  said  ? 

Was  this  new  cry  known  in  the  city  ? 

Whose  words  and  what  words  did  Paul  remember  ? 

If  this  miracle  w^as  done  publicly,  what  depended  on 
the  success  of  Paul’s  command  ? 

What  was  the  effect  of  the  cure  on  her  masters  ? 

Who  escaped  ? 

What  is  meant  by  1 market-place  ’ ? 

Who  were  these  rulers  ? 

Was  the  accusation  made  in  a regular  form  ? Why  ? 
What  are  the  three  parts  of  the  charge  which  they  made  ? 
Was  the  first  part  true  or  false  ? 

Was  the  second  part  true  or  false  ? 

What  wicked  cunning  was  there  in  this  part  ? 

What  was  true  in  reference  to  the  third  part  ? 

Explain  the  cause  of  excitement. 

Was  the  command  of  the  magistrates  the  regular  deci- 
sion of  a court  ? * 

Whose  clothes  did  the  magistrates  rend  off? 

Did  the  magistrates  themselves  rend  off  the  clothes  ? 
What  does  1 many  stripes  ’ show  ? 

(41) 


{TWENTY-FIRST  SUNDAY.) 


Did  the  jailer  do  more  than  he  was  commanded  ? 

Where  are  4 the  stocks  ’ ? 

What  caused  their  joyfulness  ? 

What  would  they  be  likely  to  sing  ? 

How  did  they  preach  their  religion  without  knowing  it  ? 
What  happened  while  they  were  singing  ? 

What  was  the  first  alarm  of  the  jailer  ? 

What  did  he  intend  to  do  ? 

What  was  true  of  Philippi  in  respect  to  suicides  ? 

Who  prevented  the  jailer  ? 

Would  a guilty  prisoner  use  such  words  as  Paul’s  ? 
What  made  the  jailer  ask  such  a question  of  his  pri- 
soner ? * 

If  there  was  an  earthquake  now,  would  you  be  led  to 
ask  this  question  ? 

Why  isn’t  it  better  to  seek  4 to  be  saved  ’ now  ? 

What  did  Paul  tell  the  jailer  was  the  way  to  be  saved  ? 

Has  there  been  any  change  since  that  time  ? 

What  is  it  to  believe  on  the  Saviour  ? 

What  two  results  followed  the  jailer’s  conversion  ? 

Why  did  the  magistrates  send  new  orders  ? 

What  does  the  word  4 sergeants'  mean? 

Was  the  order  of  the  magistrates  respectful  ? 

Who  had  broken  the  law  more,  the  magistrates  or  Paul  ? 
How  did  Paul  assert  his  rights  ? 

Who  held  the  power  now  ? 

Who  must  now  seek  favor  ? 


THE  FOUNDING  OF  THE  THESSALONIAN  CHURCH. 


LESSON. 

Acts  xvi.  40 ; xvii.  1-4. 

THE  Apostles  yielded  to  the  request  of  the  magis- 
trates, but  they  did  not  go  in  hasty  flight.  With 
the.  dignity  and  self-possession  of  innocent  men,  they 
went  first  to  the  house  of  Lydia,  where  they  met  the 
brethren  and  gave  their  farewell  words  of  comfort ; and 
then  they  left  the  city.  Luke  probably  remained  be- 
hind.1 Perhaps  Timothy  did.  Paul  and  Silas  only  are 
mentioned  at  Thessalonica.2  The  new  church  of  the 
Philippians,  in  which  the  families  of  Lydia  and  of  the 
jailer  held  a prominent  place,  may  have  needed  the  in- 
struction and  care  of  Luke  and  Timothy.  Timothy,  it 
will  be  remembered,  was  the  son  of  a Greek,  and  it  is 
supposed  that  Luke  too  was  a Greek.  They  could 
mingle  with  the  Greeks  and  Romans  of  Philippi  with- 
out creating  suspicion  or  excitement. 

If  we  stop  for  a moment  and  fix  in  the  mind  the  out- 
line of  three  great  provinces,  it  will  help  us  much  to 
gain  a clear  idea  of  the  Apostle’s  journeys  now  and 
hereafter  in  all  this  region.  In  Paul’s  time,  the  coun- 
try from  the  great  Hsemus  mountain-range  (which  runs 

1 Luke  was  with  the  Apostle  at  Philippi,  as  the  seventeenth  verse 
shows,  4 followed  Paul  and  us,'  but  the  account  of  Paul’s  journey  is 
continued  from  this  point  to  the  twentieth  chapter  in  the  third  per- 
son. See  seventeenth  chapter,  4 Now  when  they,  etc. 

2 xvii.  10.  * 


146 


( TWENTY-SECOND  SUNDAY.) 


almost  parallel  with  the  Danube)  to  the  southernmost 
cape  of  Greece  was  divided  into  Hlyricum , Macedonia , 


and  Achaia . If  Paul  did  not  preach  in  Hlyricum , he 
went  to  the  very  borders  of  the  province.  He  after- 
wards wrote  from  Corinth  to  Rome,  c from  Jerusalem 
round  about  unto  Illyricum,  I have  fully  preached  the 
Gospel  of  Christ.’3  Paul  travelled  over  Macedonia  and 
Achaia  several  times.  In  his  letters  written  later  in 
life,  we  find  many  allusions  to  Achaia?  We  now  see 
him  taking  the  first  of  his  journeys  into  Macedonia . 
From  Philippi,  his  course  struck  off  towards  the  centre 
and  the  capital  of  that  great  province. 

8 Romans  xv.  19. 

4 Rom.  xv.  26  ; II.  Corinth,  ix.  2 ; xi.  10 ; It  Thess.  i.  7,  8. 


THE  THESSALONTAH  CHURCH.  147 

At  Philippi,  if  not  before,  Paul  had  entered  the  great 
Roman  military  road.  It  was  the  great  state  road 
which  led  from  the  west  to  the  east.  It  was  built  at 
enormous  expense,  and  reached  from  Dyrrachium  on 
the  Illyrican  coast  (opposite  Brundusium,  from  which 
point  the  road  continued  to  Rome)  to  Cypsela5  in 
Thrace,  and  perhaps  farther.  Possibly  Paul- trod  this 
identical  road  at  Troas.  Philippi  was  the  first  im- 
portant city  in  Macedonia  on  this  state-road ; and  Thes- 
salonica  was  about  half-way  between  Dyrrachium  and 
Cypsela.  Along  the  stone  pavement  of  this  Roman 
road,  Paul  and  Silas,  two  Roman  citizens,  travel,  still 
sore  from  their  scourging ; not  now  fleeing  for  life  nor 
by  night,  but  holding  the  fate  of  the  Philippian  rulers 
m their  own  hands.  As  they  passed  the  mile-stones,  care- 
fully put  up  all  along  the  way,  they  would  be  reminded 
that  every  foot-pace  was  taking  them  towards  the  seven- 
hilled  Monarch  of  the  World.  In  later  years,  on  the 
other  side  of  the  Adriatic,  Paul  trod  the  same  pavement 
at  Appii  Forum  and  Three  Taverns.6  Amphipolis  and 
Apollonia  divided  the  distance  between  Philippi  and 
Thessalonica  into  three  nearly  equal  parts.  We  may 
think  of  Paul  and  Silas  as  lodging  over-night  in  each  of 
these  places,  since  the  journey  from  one  place  to  an- 
other was  about  one  day’s  travel.  The  road  to  Am- 
phipolis lay  across  the  plain  north  of  the  mountains  of 
Pangasus5  celebrated  for  their  gold  and  silver-mines  and 
for  their  beautiful  roses.  “The  ancient  name  of  Am- 
phipolis was  ‘Nine-Ways,’  from  the  great  number  of 
roads  from  Thrace  and  Macedonia  which  met  at  this 
point.”  It  was  afterwards  called  Amphipolis,7  because 
the  river  flowed  almost  around  it.  Xerxes  crossed  this 

6 See  map  in  Twentieth  Sunday.  6 Acts  xxviii.  15. 

B 7 Amphi,  about,  polis,  the  city. 


148 


( TWENTY-SECOND  SUNDAY.) 


river  here,  and  offered  to  it  a sacrifice  of  white  horses. 
The  river  spread  out  into  a lake  above  the  town.  The 
city  is  just  in  a pass  of  the  mountains,  and  commands 
the  best  road  from  the  sea  up  to  the  Macedonian  plains. 
It  was  a place  of  consequence  therefore.  Demosthenes 
spoke  of  it  in  his  famous  orations  to  the  Athenians. 

Paul  and  Silas  had  come  thirty-three  miles.  The  next 
part  of  the  journey  was  thirty  miles  to  Apollonia.  The 
Roman  road  is  “ along  the  edge  of  the  Strymonic  gulf, 
first  between  cliffs  and  the  sea  and  then  across  a well- 
wooded  sea-plain,  where  the  peak  of  Mount  Athos  is 
seen  far  across  the  bay  to  the  left.  As  we  leave  the 
sea,  we  have  before  us  on  the  coast  Stagirus,  the  birth- 
place of  Aristotle  the  philosopher,  and  just  where  the 
mountains  close  on  the  roads  is  the  tomb  of  Euripides, 
the  tragic  poet.”  Apollonia  was  somewhere  on  the 
road  across  the  neck  of  the  three-pronged  peninsula, 
and  about  thirty-seven  miles  from  Thessalonica.  The 
country  is  varied  and  picturesque.  There  is  a long 
valley  in  which  are  two  lakes.  Then  the  sea  appears 
again.  Then  there  is  another  valley,  the  long  and  fruit- 
ful valley  of  the  river  Axius,  and  right  before  us  on  its 
bank  is  Thessalonica,  the  largest  and  most  important 
city  on  the  great  road.  It  was  named  for  Thessalonica, 
a sister  of  Alexander  the  Great.8  It  was  the  capital  of 
Macedonia.  When  Cicero  was  exiled  from  Rome,  he 
lived  here.  The  great  Roman  generals,  Antony  and 
Octavius,  were  here  after  the  celebrated  battle  of 
Philippi.  And  from  that  day  to  this  it  has  been  one 
of  the  chief  cities  on  the  European  side^ff  the  Archi- 
pelago. Before  Constantinople  was  built,  it  was  the 
capital  of  all  that  region  around  the  head  of  the  iEgean. 
It  was  at  the  head  of  the  busy  iEgean  Sea  and  at  the 

8 Its  former  name  was  Tkerma.  It  was  re-named  when  re-built  and 
adorned  by  Thessalonica’s  husband,  Cassander. 


THE  THESSALONIAN  CHURCH. 


149 


outlet  of  the  trade  of  thrifty  and  fertile  Macedonia; 
and  “ there  probably  never  was  a time,  from  the  day 
.when  it  first  received  its  name,  that  the  city  was  not  a 
busy  commercial  town.  It  ranks  in  our  own  day,  in 
European  Turkey,  next  to  Constantinople.9  We  see 
how  appropriate  a place  it  was  for  one  of  the  starting- 
points  of  the  Gospel  in  Europe ; and  we  can  appreciate 
the  force  of  the  expression  used  by  Paul  a few  months 
after  leaving  the  Thessalonians,  when  he  writes  to 
them:  ‘From  you  sounded  out  the  word  of  the  Lord, 
not  only  in  Macedonia,  but  in  every  place.’10 

Thessalonica  became  in  this  part  of  Europe,  like  An- 
tioch in  Syria,  a city  where  Christians  were  known  and 
where  their  influence  was  felt. 

In  Thessalonica  there  was  a synagogue ; for  in  this 
busy,  trafficking  town  were  many  Jews.  Perhaps  the 
reason  why  Paul  and  Silas  did  not  stop  in  Amphipolis 
and  Apollonia  was  that  there  was  no  synagogue. 

As  Paul  and  Silas  now  enter  the  Thessalonian  syna- 
gogue, we  may  recall  the  entrance  of  the  two  strangers 
into  the  synagogue  of  Pisidian  Antioch,  and  Paul’s  ad- 
dress in  reply  to  the  invitation  of  the  chief  men.  Al- 
though the  city  was  Greek,  and  his  work  was  mainly 
among  Gentiles,  Paul  came  first,  as  his  manner  was,  to 
the  Jews ; and  at  first  all  the  Jews  listened  with  patience 
and  with  curiosity.  For  three  Sabbath-days  and  at  any 
intervening  meetings  and  in  conversation  from  day  to 
day,  he  reasoned  with  them.  His  address  to  the  Thes- 
salonian congregation  was  on  the  same  great  subject 
as  that  to  the  Pisidian  Jews  and  Gentiles ; but  only  the 
three  chief  points  of  his  discourse  are  given  : (1.)  That 
the  Messiah  of  the  Scriptures  must  be  a suffering  Mes- 

a The  name  of  Thessalonica  is  not  yet  entirely  lost.  It  is  now  Sa* 
lonica.  One  of  the  modern  missionary  stations  has  been  in  Salonica. 

10  I.  Thessalonians  i.  8. 


150 


(TWENTY-SECOND  SUNDAY.) 


siah;  (2.)  That  the  Messiah,  after  dgath,  must  rise 
again;  (3.)  That  Jesus  of  Nazareth  suffered,  died,  and 
rose  again,  and  therefore  was  the  Messiah  foretold. 

Here,  as  at  Antioch,  were  Jews  and  proselytes  (‘de- 
vout Greeks  ’)  in  the  synagogue.  Here,  as  there,  some 
Jews  at  once  believed,  and  a multitude  of  Gentile- 
Greeks,and  of  the  4 chief  women’  also  4 not  a few.’ 

From  the  letter,  which  Paul  soon  afterwards  wrote 
back  to  the  Thessalonian  believers,  we  gain  a glimpse 
of  his  conduct  and  of  his  way  of  preaching  in  Thes- 
salonica.  We  see  him  preaching  with  unflinching 
courage11  and  without  flattery.12  We  see  him  encour- 
aging and  correcting  his  converts  as  carefully  and  kindly 
as  a father  his  own  children,13  loving  and  cherishing 
them  as  tenderly  and  gently  as  a nurse  her  own  off- 
spring,14 watching  over  4 each  one,’13  and  like  a faithful 
shepherd  and  friend,  ready  to  give  his  own  life  for  his 
loved  flock.15  Well  might  the  Apostle  write  them  : 44  Ye 
are  witnesses , how  holily  and  justly  and  unblamably  we 
behaved  ourselves  among  you.”16  At  Thessalonica,  too, 
Paul  labored  to  support  himself  while  he  preached — 
very  likely  at  the  trade  of  tent-maker,  which  he  learned 
when  a boy.  Late  at  night,  no  doubt,  the  Apostle 
might  have  been  seen  by  lamp-light  working  at  the 
rough  tent-cloth,  so  as  to  be  chargeable  to  nobody.17  It 
was  the  Apostle’s  way  of  teaching  what  he  preached, 
and  of  enforcing  what  he  commanded  in  his  letters : 
4 Study  to  be  quiet  and  to  work  with  your  own  hands,’ 

11  uAfter  that  we  had  suffered  and  were  shamefully  treated  at  Phi- 
lippi, as  ye  know , we  were  bold  to  speak  to  you.”  I.  Thess.  ii.  2. 

12  “ Neither  at  any  time  used  we  flattering  words,  as  ye  know." 
Yerse  5. 

13  Yerse  11.  14  Yerse  1. 

15  Verse  8.  “Affectionately  desirous,”  etc. 

w Yerse  10.  17  Yerse  9. 


THE  TILES  SAL  ONI  AH  CHURCH. 


151 


and  i if  any  man  would  not  work,  neither  let  him  eat,518 
and  of  warning  men  not  to  be  ‘ busy-bodies,’19  but  to 
do  their  own  work.18 

The  converts  left  at  Philippi  did  not  forget  Paul’s 
sufferings.  4 Once  and  again  ’ the  Philippian  believers, 
Lydia  and  the  jailer  foremost  among  them  no  doubt, 
sent  gifts  to  him  while  at  Thessalonica.20  Perhaps  the 
jailer  himself  came  over  the  road  through  Amphipolis 
and  Apollonia  to  bring  the  money  and  the  gifts  con- 
tributed. 

God  abundantly  blessed  the  Apostles’  faithful  labors 
in  Thessalonica.  A large  church  was  gathered.  Al- 
though the  persecution  seems  to  have  commenced  after 
Paul  and  Silas  had  been  there  only  three  weeks,  very 
likely  they  remained  there  a somewhat  longer  time. 
After  the  Jews  began  to  persecute,  he  no  doubt  turned 
to  the  Gentiles.  The  Thessalonian  church,  we  have 
reason  to  believe,  was  made  up  in  good  part  of  Gen- 
tiles ; for  in  the  letters  to  these  converts,  “ the  Jewish 
Scriptures  are  not  once  quoted,”  and  he  addressed  those 
who  had  turned  from  idols?1 

To  the  pious  Greek  converts,  what  a new  and  blessed 
comfort  was  there  in  the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection 
of  the  dead.  We  can  still  read  on  the  sepulchres  of 
heathen  Thessalonica  ancient  inscriptions  which  say 
that  after  death  there  is  no  resurrection,  and  after  the 
grave  no  meeting  of  loved  ones.  How  different  from 
this  thick  darkness  was  the  light  and  hope  of  Paul’s 
doctrine,  not  to  sorrow  for  those  who  sleep  in  Jesus  as 
those  others  who  have  no  hope.22 

18  Notice  the  words,  I.  Thessalonians  iv.  11,  ‘as  we  commanded 
you.’  IT.  Thessalonians  iii.  10. 

19  II.  Thessalonians  iii.  11. 

20  Philippians  iv.  16,  15. 

21  I.  Thessalonians  i.  9. 

22  iv.  13,  14. 


{TWENTY-SECOND  SUNDAY.) 


QUESTIONS. 

"HID  the  Apostles  go  directly  from  the  prison  out  of  the  city  ? 
^ Who  were  4 the  brethren  ’ ? 

Who  went  with  Paul  from  the  city  ? 

Who  remained  ? How  do  you  know  ? 

Into  what  three  provinces  was  the  whole  great  peninsula 
then  divided  ? 

Where  in  the  Scriptures  is  Illyricum  mentioned  ? 

Did  Paul  preach  in  Illyricum  ? 

Did  Paul  travel  into  Achaia  more  than  once  ? 

What  province  was  he  now  in  ? 

On  what  road  did  Paul  now  travel  ? 

At  what  point  on  the  road  was  Thessalonica  ? 

How  far  did  this  road  reach  ? 

Where  did  Paul  travel  on  this  same  road  afterwards  ? 
Where  do  you  find  the  notice  of  it  ? 

What  parts  did  Amphipolis  and  Apollonia  divide  the 
journey  into  ? 

What  was  the  ancient  name  of  Amphipolis  ? Why  ? 
Why  was  it  called  Amphipolis  ? 

What  made  it  a place  of  consequence  ? 

What  did  Xerxes  here  ? 

Between  Amphipolis  and  Apollonia  what  birth  place  ? 
what  tomb  ? 

Near  what  river  was  Thessalonica  ? 

For  whom  was  Thessalonica  named  ? 

What  exile  had  lived  here  ? 

What  has  Thessalonica  been  since  that  time  ? 

What  before  Constantinople  was  built  ? 

Why  was  its  position  good  ? 

How  does  it  rank  now  ? 

What  is  its  name  now  ? 

What  has  been  there  in  modern  times  ? 

What  sentence  of  the  Apostle  illustrates  its  influence 
then  ? 

, What  resemblance  between  Thessalonica  and  Antioch  ? 

(43) 


{TWENTY-SECOND  SUNDAY.) 


Why  did  the  Apostles  pass  through  Amphipolis  and  Apollo- 
nia  without  preaching  ? 

Why  was  there  a S}magogue  in  Thessalonica  ? 

How  long  did  Paul  reason  ? Where  ? With  whom  ? 
What  resemblance  can  you  draw  between  his  visit  here 
and  at  Antioch  in  Pisidia  ? 

What  does  ‘opening  and  alleging’  mean?* 

What  were  the  three  points  of  his  discourse  ? 

What  does  ‘ c(£isorted  ’ mean  ? 

What  proselytes  are  mentioned  ? 

How  do  we  know  what  Paul’s  conduct  and  preaching  were  in 
Thessalonica  ? 

Why  did  it  require  courage  ? 

How  was  he  like  a father  to  his  converts  ? 

How  like  a nurse  ? 

What  other  verso  shows  his  fond  affection  ? 

How  did  he  support  himself  ? 

What  commands  did  he  enforce  in  this  manner  ? 

What  was  the  result  of  Paul’s  labors  in  the  city  ? 

Were  the  members  of  the  Thessalonian  church  Jews 
or  Gentiles  ? 

What  shows  it  ? 

What  comfort  was  there  to  them  in  the  doctrine  of  ro* 
surrection  ? 


(44) 


Ctomtgdljirir  Sunbair. 


THE  MOB  OF  THE  IDLERS. 


LESSON. 

Acts  xvii.  5-13. 

THE  Jews  of  Thessalonica  were  as  envious  as  the 
Jews  of  Antioch  in  Pisidia.  They  did  not  like  to 
see  the  multitude  yielding  so  fast  to  Paul’s  teaching. 
Especially  when  they  thought  how  the  Roman  Govern- 
ment looked  on  all  Jews  with  suspicion,  they  did  not 
like  to  see  these  stranger  Jews,  who  preached  strange 
doctrines,  gaining  influence  with  the  inhabitants.  They 
therefore  quickly  found  means  to  hinder  and  to  silence 
the  two  faithful  preachers. 

“A  multitude  of  idlers  about  the  market  and  the 
landing-places  abound  in  every  such  city.”  These  low 
fellows1  the  Jews  got  together,  and,  by  their  arts,  ex- 
cited them  into  a mob.  They  made  an  uproar  through 
the  city.  Then  they  assaulted  the  house  of  the  man2 
whose  guests  Paul  and  Silas  were  supposed  to  be.  They 
hoped  to  find  the  two  hated  men  ; to  bring  them  out ; 
and  then  to  get  the  excited  people3  to  pronounce  a 

1  1 Market-place  loungers  ’ or  idlers,  the  phrase  means. 

2  A 4 Jason  ’ is  mentioned  in  Paul’s  letter  from  Corinth  to  Rome 
(Romans  xvi.  21)  as  Paul’s  kinsman.  Yery  likely  Jason  of  Thessa- 
lonica went  to  Corinth.  The  .name  is  one  Greek  form  of  Joshua  or 
Jesus. 

3  The  word  translated  ‘ people  ’ in  the  fifth  verse  means  the  people 
gathered  in  the  forum  to  judge  and  try  causes , the  demus , the  public 
assembly  ; a different  word  from  ‘ people  ’ in  verse  1 3 


THE  MOB  OF  THE  IDLERS. 


153 


judgment  against  them.  Paul  and  Silas  were  absent ; 
and  so  the  mob  dragged  Jason,  and  some  other  Christ- 
ians whom  they  found,  to  the  city  magistrates. 

It  is  to  be  noticed  now  that  this  is  not  Homan  au- 
thority. Thessalonica  was  called  c a free  city.’  It  was  in 
a Homan  province,  but  was  allowed  to  govern  itself; 
that  is,  the  citizens  elected  their  own  magistrates,  and 
were  not  ruled  by  a Roman  Pro-consul  and  a Roman 
garrison.4  This  was  a privilege  and  a compliment  to 
the  city,  in  return  for  its  help  in  the  wars ; and  the 
Greeks  would  be  most  careful  to  preserve  it.  The  magis- 
trates, therefore,  to  whom  the  crowd  carried  Jason, 
were  not  the  Pro-consul  of  Macedonia  and  his  attend- 
ants, like  the  Pro-consul  of  Cyprus  at  Paphos,  but  the 
Greek  city  magistrates . Like  the  people,  they  would 
be  very  jealous  of  the  rights  of  their  free  city,  and  par- 
ticularly careful  to  do  nothing  to  forfeit  them.  The 
accusation  against  the  Christians  and  Jason,  which  the 
Jews  and  the  mob  cried  out  Jjefore  the  magistrates,  was 
therefore  well  formed  to  increase  the  excitement.  It 
was  in  substance  this  : 

u These  men , who  are  setting  the  whole  world  in  confusion , are  come 
hither  at  last . And  Jason  hath  received  them  into  his  house . And 
they  are  all  acting  in  the  face  of  the  Emperor's  decrees , for  they  declare 
there  is  another  King , whom  they  call  Jesus” 

These  Jews  would  be  glad  to  put  themselves  on  the 
side  of  the  Emperor’s  authority,  and  to  cast  off  from 
themselves  the  suspicion  of  the  government  by  fastening 
it  on  this  new  sect  against  which  their  charges  were  in 
part  true.  Jason  and  his  fellow-Christians  did  receive 
J esus  to  be  King,  as  Paul  had  taught ; but  none  of 
them  taught  or  believed  that  Jesus  was  an  earthly  king, 
in  opposition  to  Caesar. 

4 The  Pro-consul,  who  ruled  the  province  of  Macedonia,  probably 
lived  in  Thessalonica,  but  had  no  authority  over  the  city. 


154 


( TWENTY-THIRD  SUNDAY.) 


If  the  accusation  was  true,  there  was  cause  for  alarm 
to  the  magistrates  and  to  the  people.  The  charge  was 
a charge  of  sedition.  The  freedom  of  the  city  might 
he  in  peril.  The  people  and  the  magistrates  were  there- 
fore c troubled.’  u It  is  evident  that  the  magistrates 
were  excited  and  unsettled  as  well  as  the  multitude. 
No  doubt  they  were  anxious  to  stand  well  with  the 
Roman  government,  and  not  to  injure  themselves  or 
their  city  by  a wrong  decision  in  this  dispute  between 
the  Christians  and  the  Jews.”  Their  course  was  a wise 
one  in  the  circumstances.  It  was  to  c take  security 5 
from  Jason  and  his  companions.  By  this  expression  it 
is  most  probably  meant  that  a sum  of  money  was  de- 
posited with  the  magistrates,  and  that  the  Christian 
people  of  the  place  made  themselves  responsible  that 
no  attempt  at  sedition  should  be  made  against  the  gov- 
ernment, and  that  the  peace  should  be  kept  in  Thessa- 
lonica  itself.  In  this  way  the  disturbance  was  quieted.” 

But  though  the  magistrates  had  gained  quiet  in  the 
city,  Paul  and  Silas  were  in  peril.  The  lower  classes 
were  still  excited.  The  Jews  were  in  a state  of  un- 
reasonable and  fanatical  rage.  The  Apostles  could  not 
appear  in  public  as  before,  without  danger  to  them- 
selves and  to  their  fellow-Christians,  who  were  security 
for  their  good-behavior.  They  must  be  silent,  if  they 
remained.  Silence  was  impossible  with  Paul.  He  must 
preach.  That  was  the  one  great  command  to  the  dis- 
ciples ; and  to  the  earnest  heart  of  Paul  it  was  woe  if 
he  did  not  preach.  Under  the  same  watchful  care  of 
c brethren,’  which  let  Paul  down  in  a basket  from  the 
walls  of  Damascus,  the  two  pilgrim-preachers  departed  - 
the  same  evening  from  Thessalonica. 

“ Passing  under  the  Arch  of  Augustus  and  out  of  the 
Western  Gate,  the  Great  Road  crosses  the  plain  and 
ascends  the  mountains.”  Paul  and  Silas,  in  the  silence 


THE  MOB  OF  THE  IDLERS. 


155 


of  the  night,  took  their  way  again  along  the  payed 
highway.  Gradually  separating  from  the  bay,  they 
crossed  the  broad  river  Avhose  waters  flow  from  the  dis- 
tant mountains  of  the  north  and  west,  through  nearly 
the  whole  length  and  breadth  of  Macedonia.  If  they 
had  gone  on  as  far  as  Edessa,  they  would  have  had 
from  the  high  lands  u a glorious  view  of  all  the  coun- 
try ” which  stretches  leagues  on  leagues  from  the  nearer 
mountains  to  the  sea.  To  that  place,  however,  Paul 
was  not  directed,  but  turning  south,  away  from  the 
great  thoroughfare  and  into  a smaller,  they  went  down 
to  Berea.  “ If  this  journey  was  at  all  what  it  is  now, 
the  travellers  first  passed  the  gardens  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Thessalonica,  and  then  crossed  a wide  tract  of 
fields  of  grain,  and  then  the  bed  of  c the  wide-flowing 
Axius,’  near  which  the  day  must  have  broken  upon 
them.”  Then  there  was  another  wide,  long  stretch  of 
plain  : then  a river,  with  high  artificial  banks  to  guard 
against  floods.  Then  the  road  enters  a vast  forest,  in 
which  were  “ spaces  of  cultivated  land  and  villages 
concealed  among  the  trees.”  Then,  after  miles  of  travel 
through  the  woods,  the  road  begins  to  ascend,  and 
leads  up  to  the  gate  of  Berea. 

We  know  little  of  this  city  as  it  was.  At  the  present 
day,  it  is  one  of  the  most  pleasant  towns  in  the  re- 
gion. “ Plane  trees  spread  a grateful  shade  over  its 
gardens : streams  of  water  abound  in  every  street.” 
There  are  some  few  remains  of  Greek  and  Roman  build- 
ings. But  Berea  has  a more  noble  renown  than  that 
which  springs  from  splendid  walls  and  temples.  The 
Jews  here  were  more  noble-minded  than  those  whom 
Paul  and  Silas  had  left.  # When  Paul  and  Silas  present- 
ed, in  their  synagogue,  the  arguments  to  prove  that 
Jesus  was  the  Messiah,  “ they  not  only  listened,  but 
examined  the  Scriptures  themselves,  to  see  if  his  argu- 


156 


(: TWENTY-THIRD  SUNDAY.) 


ments  were  confirmed  by  prophecy.”  They  persevered 
also.  Daily  they  did  it.  c Therefore  many  of  them 
believed,’  as  every  one  who  candidly  and  diligently 
and  obediently  searches  the  Scriptures,  to  know  and  to 
do  the  truth,  will  believe.  Decause  a man  searches  the 
Scriptures  rightly,  therefore  will  he  believe.  Here,  too, 
were  c honorable  women ’ who  believed.  At  Antioch 
in  Pisidia,  c honorable  women 5 had  aided  to  persecute 
Paul,  but  at  Thessalonica  c chief  women,’  and  at  Berea 
c honorable  Greek  women,’  were  his  helpers  and  disci- 
ples. But  just  as  persecuting  Jews  followed  Paul  from 
Antioch  to  Iconium,  so  they  did  from  Thessalonica  to 
Berea,  as  soon  as  they  knew  they  were  preaching  there 
their  doctrine  of  the  Messiah. 

How  long  Paul  was  here,  it  is  not  said.  “ From  the 
fact  that  the  Bereans  were  c daily  ’ searching  the  Scrip- 
tures for  arguments  in  favor  of  or  against  the  Apostle’s 
doctrine,  we  conclude  that  he  remained  in  Berea  sev- 
eral days,  at  least.”  It  would  be  a week  or  two  weeks, 
before  the  Thessalonian  Jews  would  get  knowledge 
that  the  preachers  were  at  Berea,  and  before  they  could 
make  the  journey,  for  Berea  was  sixty  miles  from  Thes- 
salonica. 


( TWENTY-THIRD  SUNDAY.) 


QUESTIONS. 

TO'HAT  was  the  cause  of  the  Jews’  persecution  ? 

” Were  they  envious  of  the  same  thing  as  the  Pisidian 
Jews  ? 

What  especial  reason  in  Thessalonica  for  their  envy  ? 
What  is  meant  by  4 lewd  fellows’  ? 

What  did  they  accomplish  with  these  fellows  ? 

In  what  other  place  is  there  a Jason  mentioned  ? 

What  did  they  hope  to  accomplish  ? 

What  does  ‘people,’  in  the  fifth  verse,  mean  ? 

Who  were  taken  besides  Jason  ? 

What  kind  of  authority  is  now  exercised  ? 

What  is  meant  by  a free  city  ? 

. Who  were  the  rulers  before  whom  Jason  was  brought  ? 
What  were  the  people  and  the  magistrates  very  jealous 
of? 

What  was  the  general  accusation  ? 

Against  whom  was  it  made  ? 

What  was  the  charge  against  Jason? 

What  was  the  definite  accusation  ? 

Against  whom  was  this  made  ? 

Why  would  the  Jews  be  glad  to  make  such  an  accusa- 
tion ? 

Was  the  accusation  true  ? 

What  was  the  crime  in  the  accusation  ? 

Was  there  any  reason  why  the  people  should  be 
4 troubled  ’ ? 

What  course  did  the  magistrates  take  ? 

Did  they  act  hastily,  like  the  magistrates  at  Philippi  ? 
^Vhat  is  meant  by  4 taken  security  ’ ? 

Why  were  the  Apostles  still  in  peril  ? 

Why  did  not  Paul  remain  silent  in  Thessalonica  ? 

Why  did  they  send  them  by  night  ? 

What  road  did  the  Apostles  take  ? 

In  what  direction  was  Berea  ? 

What  kind  of  a town  is  it  now  ? 

(45) 


(TWENTY-THIRD  SUNDAY.) 

Why  were  the  Jews  here  more  noble-minded  than  those  of 
Thessalonica  ? 

What  things  were  1 those  things  ’ ? 

What  proves  that  they  persevered  ? 

Why  did  many  Bereans  believe  ? 

What  is  the  reason  why  many  persons  do  not  believe  ? 

How  should  the  Scriptures  be  examined  ? 

What  difference  between  the  ‘chief  women’  of  Berea 
and  of  Antioch  in  Pisidia  ? 

Who  followed  the  Apostles  from  Thessalonica  ? 

Is  it  meant  that  Paul  preached  at  this  time  all  the  doc- 
trines of  ‘ the  word  of  God’  ? 

How  long  was  Paul  in  Berea  ? 

What  difference  in  the  departure  of  Paul  from  Philippi, 
Thessalonica,  and  Antioch  ? 

How  does  it  compare  with  his  departure  from  Pisidian 
Antioch,  Iconium,  and  Lystra  ? 

(46) 


Ctomtg-ffluriB  Smnbajr. 


THE  JOURNEY  TO  GREECE. 


LESSON. 

Acts  xvii.  13-16. 

THE  Thessalonian  Jews  u came  like  hunters  on  their 
prey,”  but  they  could  not  take  away  the  faith  al- 
ready in  many  hearts,  nor  prevent  others  still  from  re- 
ceiving it.  They  made  it,  however,  unpleasant,  and  no 
doubt  unsafe,  for  Paul  to  preach  in  Berea.  The  Berean 
Bible-readers  were  his  steadfast  friends  ; and  although 
they  thought  it  best  to  send  Paul  away,  they  kept  Silas 
and  Timothy1  to  instruct  and  to  assist  them.  Perhaps 
the  fact  that  Silas  and  Timothy  might  be  of  some 
service  to  the  new  church  of  Thessalonica  was  an  ad- 
ditional reason  for  their  remaining.  It  was  no  doubt 
some  of  the  Berean  converts  who  went  with  Paul  on 
his  way.  Luke  and  Timothy  and  Silas  had  been  taken 
from  him : who  else  than  these  warm-hearted  converts 
was  there  to  go  with  him  in  his  trials  ? 

Why  did  Paul  go  to  Athens  ? He  could  not,  of 
course,  go  back  to  Thessalonica.  If  he  had  gone  back 
to  Edessa  or  further  west,  the  busy  thoroughfare  of  the 
Roman  road  would  soon  have  brought  the  Thessalonians 

1 If  Timothy  was  not  at  Thessalonica  with  Paul  and  Silas,  (see  be- 
ginning of  Twenty-second  Sunday,)  the  Thessalonian  persecutors 
would  not  be  so  bitter  against  him.  Besides,  it  might  not  be  wise  in 
them,  in  a Greek  city,  to  attack  a man  whose  father  was  a Greek, 
(xvi.  i.)  Timothy  may  have  brought  the  gifts  from  Philippi  to  Thes- 
ealonica,  perhaps  just  as  Paul  came  away. 


158 


(: TWENTY-FOURTH  SUNDAY.) 


on  his  track.  It  would  be  better  to  pass  out  of  the 
province  and  far  beyond  their  reach.  It  seems  proba- 
ble, therefore,  that  he  went  directly  to  Athens  by  sea, 
although  it  is  supposed  by  some  persons  that  the  phrase, 
c to  go  as  it  were  to  the  sea,’2  shows  rather  that  he  went 
by  land.  We  suppose  that  he  took  ship  somewhere 
near  Dium,3  to  which  place  there  was  a road  from  Berea. 
Here,  near  the  lofty  Mount  Olympus,  with  its  broad  base, 
its  sides  dark  with  woods,  its  glittering,  snowy  sum- 
mit rising  above  the  clouds  and  on  which  was  thought 
to  be  the  throne  of  the  gods — here,  where  all  the  as- 
sociations of  ancient  Greece  begin  to  suggest  them- 
selves— Paul  embarks  for  the  ancient  capital.  “The 
shepherds  from  the  heights  above  the  celebrated  Yale 
of  Tempe  may  have  watched  the  sails  of  his  ship  that 
day,  as  it  moved  like  a white  speck  from  the  waters  of 
the  Thermaic  Gulf  into  the  iEgean  Sea.” 

As  Paul  looked  back,  the  gigantic  Olympus  was  close 
behind,  with  its  many  ridges  and  many  vales : the  moun- 
tains beyond  Thessalonica  grew  dim : Mount  Athos, 
away  off  towards  the  north-east,  far  out  on  its  penin- 
sula, seems  ‘like  an  island  floating  in  the  horizon.’ 
“ Gradually  the  nearer  heights  of  snowy  Olympus 
recede  into  the  distance,  as  the  vessel  approaches 
nearer  and  nearer  to  the  centre  of  all  the  interest  of 
classic  Greece.  All  the  land  and  water  in  sight  be- 
comes more  eloquent  as  we  advance.  Poetry  and  his- 
tory are  on  every  side : every  rock  is  a monument : 
every 'current  is  alive  with  some  memory  of  the  past.” 
The  long  island  of  Euboea  shuts  them  off  from  a distant 
view  of  the  pass  of  Thermopylae,  where  Leonidas  and 
his  three  hundred  Spartans  defied  the  mighty  host  of 
Xerxes,  and  from  the  plain  of  Marathon,  where  the 

2 The  Greek  words  translated  ‘ as  it  were,'  do  not  mean  that  there 
was  any  deception.  3 Map  on  page  146. 


THE  JOURNEY  TO  GREECE. 


159 


Athenian^  bravely  stood  against  the  armies  of  Persia. 
At  length  the  island  is  passed,  and  the  ship  rounds  the 
southern  extremity  of  Attica,  “ Sunium’s  high  promon- 
tory— still  crowned  with  the  white  columns  of  that 


temple  of  Minerva  which  was  the  landmark  to  Greek 
sailors,”  and  which  showed  Athens  was  near  at  hand. 

“ To  one  who  travels  in  classic  lands,  no  moment  is 
more  exciting  than  when  he  has  left  the  cape  of  Su- 
nium  behind,  and  eagerly  looks  for  the  first  glimpse  of 
that  city  which  was  ‘ the  eye  of  Greece,  mother  of  arts 
and  eloquence.’  ” As  the  ship  sails  slowly  up  the  gulf, 
a light  suddenly  flashes  in  the  distant  air  as  from  a mir- 
ror. It  is  the  flashing  of  the  armor  of  Minerva’s  great 
statue,  standing  with  poised  shield  and  spear  on  the 
summit  of  the  citadel  of  Athens.  And  now  from  the 
deck  of  the  vessel  you  can  see  Athens  itself,  its  famous 
buildings,  its  surrounding  hills.  Directly  before  us  is 
the  illustrious  island  Salamis,  near  which  Xerxes,  from 
his  high  throne  on  the  coast  of  Attica,  saw  his  fleet,  his 
last  hope,  destroyed.  The  atmosphere,  famous  for  its 


160 


(: TWENTY-FOURTH  SUNDAY.) 


clearness,  reveals  even  the  distant  mountains,  which 
seem  nearer  than  they  are.  And  now,  as  we  approach 
the  harbor,  the  high  craggy  peak  which  W6  see  crowded 
with  temples  and  statues,  in  the  centre  of  the  city,  is  the 
citadel,4  from  the  top  of  which  the  colossal  Minerva 
looks  over  her  idolatrous  kingdom.  White  sails  are 
plying  in  the  harbor,  and  making  their  busy  errands 
from  the  Piraeus  to  Cenchrcect  — from  the  harbor  of 
Athens  to  the  harbor  of  Corinth.  The  Piraeus  was  to 
Athens  what  Seleucia  was  to  Antioch,  what  Neapolis 
was  to  Philippi.5  As  we  near  the  entrance  to  the  Pi- 


raeus, “ the  land  seems  to  rise,  and  conceals  all  the 
plain.  Idlers  come  down  on  the  rocks  to  watch  the 
coming  vessel.  The  sailors  are  all  on  the  alert.  Sud- 
denly an  opening  is  revealed ; and  a sharp  turn  of  the 
helm  brings  the  ship  in  between  two  piers,  on  which 
towers  are  erected,”  and  from  one  to  the  other  of  which 
a chain  was  sometimes  thrown  to  keep  out  hostile  ships. 
“ We  are  in  smooth  water,  and  we  cast  anchor  in  the 
basin  of  the  Piraeus. 

“ Had  Paul  come  to  this  spot  four  hundred  years  be- 

4 The  Acropolis:  aero,  top  or  summit,  polis,  city — the  highest  part 
of  the  city,  the  citadel,  (the  armory  and  defence.) 

r>  See  pages  47  and  131. 


THE  JOURNEY  TO  GREECE. 


161 


fore,  he  would  have  been  in  Athens  from  the  moment 
of  his  landing  at  the  Piraeus.  At  that  time  the  two 
cities  were  united  by  a double  line  of  walls,  made  fam- 
ous by  the  name  of  c the  Long  Walls .’  ” Between 
these  walls  a populous  street  five  miles  in  length  then 
stretched  across  the  plain.  Since  that  time  wars  had 
often  swept  over  the  land.  The  Romans  now  ruled 
here  as  everywhere  ; and  “ on  each  side  of  the  road,  as 
Paul  went  up  to  Athens,  were  broken  fragments  of  the 
masonry  which  had  once  been  the  pride  of  Athens.” 
Passing  along  this  ruined  street — this  street  of  ruins — 
Paul  came  to  the  gates  of  Athens  ; and  through  them 
entered  at  once  a city  well  described  in  those  three 
short  words  of  inspiration,  ‘full  of  idols .’6  Here, 
close  by  the  gates,  is  “an  image  of  Neptune  on  horse- 
back, hurling  his  trident.”  Here  is  a temple  to  Ceres, 
the  goddess  of  agriculture,  “ on  the  walls  of  which  an 
inscription  tells  us  the  statues  within  were  the  work  of 
the  celebrated  Praxiteles.”  Paul  goes  through  the  gate. 
“ Sculptured  forms  of  Miner  va,  Jupiter,  and  Apollo,  of 
Mercury  and  the  muses,  stand  near  a sanctuary  of  Bac- 
chus. Temples,  statues,  altars  abound  on  every  side.” 
In  every  street  are  seen  the  works  of  art,  designed  to 
serve  the  purpose  of  idolatry.  There  were  statues  to 
all  the  mythological  divinities.  There  were  images  of 
every  god  on  Olympus.  There  were  chiselled  forms 
of  fabled  heroes,  such  as  Hercules  and  Theseus.  “ Every 
public  place  and  building  too  was  a heathen  sanctuary. 
The  Record  House  was  a temple  of  the  iflother  of  the 
gods  The  Council  House  had  statues  of  Apollo  and 
Jupiter,  with  an  altar  of  Yesta.  The  theatre  was  con- 
secrated to  Bacchus.  And  as  if  the  idolatrous  imagina- 
tion of  the  Athenians  could  not  be  satisfied,  altars  were 


6 See  the  margin  of  the  sixteenth  verse. 


162 


{TWENTY-FOURTH  SUNDAY.) 


erected  to  Fame,  to  Modesty,  to  Energy,  to  Persuasion, 
and  to  Pity.”  “ One  traveller  tells  us,  c There  were  more 
gods  in  Athens  than  in  all  the  rest  of  the  country and 
the  Roman  satirist  hardly  exaggerates  when  he  says  it 
is  easier  to  find  a god  there  than  a man.” 

Here,  in.  the  midst  of  all  this  magnificent  workman- 
ship and  beauty,  Paul  reflected.  “ His  path  had  been 
among  the  forms  of  great  men  and  deified  heroes,  among 
the  temples,  the  statues,  the  altars  of  the  gods  of  Greece. 
In  every  form  of  beauty  and  grandeur^  wrought  out  by 
the  sculptor  and  the  architect,  he  had  seen  the  vain 
fancies  of  the  Greek  mythology.”  And  men  were  wor- 
shipping these  dumb,  dead,  beautiful  things  which  they 
themselves  had  made,  and  knew  nothing  of  the  one 
true  God  or  of  the  true  Messiah.  In  all  that  great, 
eager,  thinking  city,  only  one  man’s  great  heart  c was 
stirred  in  him  ’ for  the  sin  and  folly  of  this  worship, 
when  he  saw  Athens,  the  pride  and  beauty  of  that  land, 
‘full  of  idols? 

The  friends  who  came  with  Paul  now  returned.  They 
bore  with  them  Paul’s  command  to  Silas  and  Timothy 
to  hasten  to  him.  There  was  much  work  to  be  done  ; 
and  there  was  need  of  help. 


(: TWENTY-FOURTH  SUNDAY,) 


QUESTIONS. 

YWHY  did  the  Bereans  send  Paul  away  ? 

’ ' Who  remained  ? For  what  reason  ? 

Who  ‘conducted’  Paul? 

Why  did  Paul  go  to  Athens  f 
Did  he  go  by  sea  or  land  ? 

What  has  1 as  it  were  ’ been  thought  to  show  ? 

Was  there  any  deception  ? 

Where  may  we  suppose  he  took  ship  ? 

Near  what  mountain  ? 

What  celebrated  Yale  did  he  pass  ? 

What  other  mountain  on  the  other  side  ? 

What  celebrated  battle-fields  on  the  main-land  ? 

Who  fought  there  ? 

What  was  the  most  southern  point  of  land  ? 

What  would  he  see  as  he  sailed  up  the  Saronic  gulf  ? 
What  was  the  Piraeus  ? 

What  was  Cenchraea  ? 

What  other  places  similar  to  the  Piraeus  and  Cenchraea  ? 
How  would  it  have  been  different,  if  Paul  had  come  to  the 
Piraeus  four  hundred  years  before  ? 

What  were  the  ‘Long  Walls’  ? 

What  were  at  the  gates  of  the  city  ? 

What  inside  the  gates  ? 

What  were  some  of  the  particular  objects  in  the  streets  ? 
How  were  the  public  buildings  idolatrous  ? 

To  what  virtues  and  abstractions  were  altars  erected  ? 
What  did  one  traveller  say  about  the  gods  of  Athens  ? 
What  Roman  sarcasm  is  given  ? 

What  does  ‘ wholly  given  to  idolatry  ’ mean  ? 

What  characteristics  of  the  Athenians  would  a worldly- 
minded  man  have  noticed  ? 

What  has  the  city  of  Athens  always  been  admired  for  ?, 
What  things  were  the  pride  of  the  people  ? 

What  one  principal  thing  did  Paul  notice  ? 

(47) 


(: TWENTY-FOURTH  SUNDAY.) 


Why  was  it  not  as  right  for  Athenians  to  worship  Jupiter 
as  for  the  Jews  to  worship  Jehovah  ? 

Were  they  both  different  conceptions  of  the  same  being? 

Is  it  right  to  worship  God  through  images?  Why? 

Do  you  suppose  the  heathen  worship  the  image  simply, 
without  the  idea  of  a God  in  it  ? 

Why  may  we  not  use  a picture  or  an  image  to  help  our 
conception  of  God  ? 

Is  there  any  Mediator  in  heathen  religion  ? 

Can  men  be  saved  without  a Mediator  ? 

Is  anything  more  meant  by  ‘ his  spirit  was  stirred  ’ than  that 
Paul  pitied  the  Athenians  ? 

When  men  commit  sin,  what  ought  we  to  think  of  be- 
sides their  wretchedness  ? 

When  4 they  departed,’  where  did  they  go  ? 

What  message  did  they  bear  ? 

Why  1 with  all  speed  ’ ? 

If  the  Spirit  of  God  is  all-powerful  to  assist,  why  can 
not  one  man  do  the  whole  work  as  well  as  more  ? 

Have  wc  any  account  of  Silas  and  Timotheus  coming  to 

Paul? 


(48) 


Cfomfg-ffllj  Stmbag* 


THE  GRECIAN  CAPITAL. 


LESSON. 

Acts  xvii.  16-21. 

PAUL  was  alone  in  Athens.  Doubtless  he  went,  as 
usual,  at  once  to  the  synagogue,  but  we  have  no 
account  of  what  was  said  or  done  there.  While  he 
waited  for  Silas  and  Timothy,  he  had  time  to  see  the 
beautiful  city  and  its  idolatry.  Three  places  would  at- 
tract  his  attention,  as  they  did  the  attention  of  every 
traveller  : the  Market-place,  (the  Forum ,)  Mars’  Hill, 
(Areopagus')  and  the  Citadel,  (the  Acropolis .) 

The  Forum , or  market-place,  was  the  meeting-place 
of  the  people.  It  was  a little  valley  formed  by  three 
hills  on  three  sides.  On  the  east  of  it  was  the  citadel, 
“ towering  high  above  the  city  of  which  it  is  the  glory 
and  the  crown.”  On  the  north  is  the  craggy  Mars’ 
Hill.  On  the  west  side  was  “ a sloping  hill  partially 
levelled,  (the  Pynx ,)  the  famous  meeting-place  for  politi- 
cal assemblies.”  From  the  Pynx  and  the  Forum,  in 
ancient  times,  the  orators  and  the  statesmen  spoke  to 
the  people.  Here  poets  recited  their  verses  to  an  au- 
dience skilled  in  all  the  points  of  nice  criticism : here 
the  artists  exhibited  their  statues  and  paintings : here 
goods  of  all  descriptions  were  bought  and  sold  : here 

1 A compound  Greek  word,  from  pagus,*  and  Arco,  of  Jfars, 
the  god  of  war. 


164 


(: TWENTY-FIFTH  SUNDAY.) 


the  public  assembly  of  4 the  people  ’ 2 met  to  discuss 
and  to  make  the  laws  of  the  city,  to  sit  as  council  and 
to  decide  as  judge  in  many  of  the  legal  questions.  In 
Paul’s  time,  44  when  Athens  could  be  proud  only  of  her 
recollections  of  the  past,”  the  Forum  was  still  the  cen- 
tre 44  of  philosophy,  of  idleness,  of  conversation,  and  of 
business.”  This  4 market  ’ was  far  more  than  the  open 
market-spaces,  to  be  seen  in  many  modern  cities.  It  is 
44  rather  to  be  compared  to  the  beautiful  squares  of  such 
Italian  cities  as  Verona  and  Florence,  where  historical 
buildings  have  closed  in  the  space  with  narrow  limits, 
and  sculpture  has  peopled  it  with  impressive  images.” 
44Among  the  buildings  of  greatest  interest  in  the  Forum, 
were  the  porticoes  or  porches,  which  were  decorated 
with  paintings  and  statuary.”  Two  of  these  were,  the 
Portico  of  the  King,  on  the  roof  of  which  were  statues 
of  Theseus,  the  ancient  hero,  and  of  the  God  of  Day ; 
and  the  Portico  of  Jupiter,  in  front  of  which  was  Jupi- 
ter’s image,  and  within  which  were  paintings  illustrat- 
ing the  rise  of  the  Athenian  government.  Among  the 
trees  were  statues  of  great  men,  such  as  Solon  the  Law- 
giver, Cimon  the  Admiral,  and  Demosthenes  the  Orator. 
Here  were  statues  ^o  Mercury,  the  messenger  and  the  * 
orator  of  the  gods ; to  Apollo,  who  had  delivered  the 
city  from  the  plague ; 44  and  in  the  centre  of  all,  the 
altar  of  the  Twelve  Gods.”  44  If  from  this  point  we 
look  up  to  Mars’  Hill,  we  see  the  temple  of  Mars,  and 
we  know  that  the  sanctuary  of  the  Furies  is  just  hid- 
den by  the  projecting  ridge  of  rock.  If  we  look  to  the 
Citadel,  we  see  in  the  distance,  on  the  ledges  of  rock,  a 
series  of  little  temples  to  Bacchus  and  Aesculapius,  to 
Venus,  to  Earth,  and  to  Ceres. 

Areopagus , or  Mars’  Hill,  had  also  its  decorations ; 
but  it  was  mainly  famous  for  being  the  place  where  the 
2 See  page  152,  note  3. 


THE  GRECIAN  CAPITAL. 


165 


highest  and  most  awful  court  of  the  nation  held  its  sol- 
emn sessions.3 

The  Acropolis,4  or  citadel  was  the  top  of  the  tower- 
ing hill  which  we  saw  from  the  sea.  It  was  in  the  cen- 


CITY  OF  A T n E N 


A.  Areopagus.  B.  Pynx.  C.  Museum.  D.  Temple  of  Jupiter.  E.  Temple  of 
Theseus.  F.  Lyceum.  G-.  Temple  of  Fortune. 


tre  of  Athens,  as  it  was  also  the  very  centre  of  the 
pride  and  patriotism  of  the  Athenian  people.  It  was 
a steep  mass  of  rock,  and  could  be  ascended  only 
from  one  side.  While  therefore  it  was  the  security 
of  the  city,  it  was  made  also  the  polished  ornament 
for  the  display  of  Grecian  art.  An  orator  said : cc  it 

8 A fuller  description  of  Mars’  Hill  will  be  given  in  the  next  chap- 
ter. 

4 See  page  160,  note  4. 


166 


( TWENTY-FIFTH  SUNDAY.) 


was  the  middle  space  of  the  five  circles  of  a shield,  of 
which  the  four  outer  circles  were  Athens,  Attica,  Greece, 
and  the  world.”  The  top  of  this  hill  was  “ a museum 
of  art,  of  history  and  of  religion,  of  architecture  and  of 
sculpture,  dedicated  to  the  glory  of  the  nation  and  to 
the  worship  of  the  gods.”  If  Paul  went  up  the  flight 
of  rocky  steps  which  led  hither,  and  entered  the  mag- 
nificent gateway,  we  can  imagine  what  he  saw.  At  the 
splendid  entrance  was  a statue  of  Mercury,  guarding 
the  gate  : then  statues  of  Yenus  and  the  Graces  : then 
a bronze  statue  of  Minerva,  as  the  goddess  of  Health : 
then  the  image  of  Diana.  Then  there  were  statues  of 
Pericles,  the  orator  and  statesman,  “ to  whom  the  glory 
of  the  Acropolis  was  due  :”  of  Agrippa,  and  of  Augus- 
tus Caesar : of  Theseus  contending  with  the  Minotaur, 
and  of  Hercules  strangling  the  serpents.  In  the  centre 
was  the  Parthenon  of  Minerva,  “ the  glorious  temple 
which  rose  in  the  proudest  period  of  Athenian  history, 
and  which,  through  ages  of  war  and  decay,”  remains 
4 still  tolerably  perfect.’  Within  it  was  the  great  ivory 
and  gold  statue  of  Minerva,  the  work  of  Phidias,  and 
unrivalled  in  the  world  except  by  his  own  statue'  of 
Jupiter.  In  another  smaller  temple,  was  another  small 
statue  of  Minerva,  which,  like  that  of  Diana  at  Ephe- 
sus, was  believed  to  have  fallen  from  heaven.5  There 
was  still  another  statue  of  Minerva,  the  largest  of  all  in 
the  city.  It  was  made  of  brass,  “ from  the  shields  and 
brazen  spoils  of  the  battle  of  Marathon,  and  rose  in  gi- 
gantic proportions  above  all  the  buildings  of  the  Acrop- 
olis, and  stood  with  spear  and  shield  as  the  guardian 
deity  of  Athens  and  Attica.”  It  was  this  huge  but 
beautiful  statue -which  Paul  perhaps  saw  as  he  sailed 
up  the  gulf  towards  the  Piraeus.  “ ISTow  he  had  landed 


6 Acts  xix.  35. 


THE  GRECIAN  CAPITAL.  1C? 

and  had  seen  the  wonders  of  the  city.  Here  perhaps, 
by  this  great  statue,  Paul  looked  down  on  the  city 
‘f  ull  of  idols?  ” 

If  Paul  looked  from  the  Acropolis  away  over  the  city 
walls  into  the  open  country,  he  saw  in  one  direction 
the  place  where  Aristotle,  and  in  the  opposite  direction 
the  place  where  Plato,  both  pupils  of  Socrates,  held 
their  famous  schools.  Aristotle,  the  teacher  of  Alex- 
ander the  Great,  once  taught  in  another  part  of  the 
surrounding  groves.  There  were  other  schools  within 
the  city,  in  Paul’s  day.  In  one  of  the  porches  of  the 
Forum  the  Stoics  met : those  stern,  proud  men,  who 
taught  “ that  men  should  be  free  from  passion,  unmoved 
by  joy  or  grief,  and  submit  without  complaint  to  the 
necessity  by  which  all  things  are  governed.”  In  one 
of  the  gardens,  the  Epicureans  met — the  easy,  free  men, 
who  believed  that  pleasure  was  the  end  of  life.  These 
Stoics  and  Epicureans,  the  representatives  of  Pride  and 
Pleasure,  Paul  was  soon  to  meet  in  the  Forum,  in  his 
discussions  there. 

How  different  were  the  thoughts  of  Paul  from  those 
of  many  men  who  have  visited  Athens,  and  have  seen 
all  these  beautiful  works  of  art.  “ He  burned  with  zeal 
for  that  God  whom  he  saw  dishonored  all  through  the 
city.  He  was  melted  to  pity  for  those  who,  notwith- 
standing their  intellectual  greatness,  were  ‘wholly 
given  to  idolatry.5  He  was  not  blinded  to  the  reality 
of  things  by  the  appearance  of  art  or  philosophy. 
Earthly  beauty  and  human  wisdom  were  of  no  value, 
were  worse  than  nothing,  if  they  made  falsehood  good 
and  made  vice  a god.”  Paul,  therefore,  could  not  be 
silent.  He  exhorted  in  the  synagogue  of  the  Jews, 
reasoning,  as  before,  from  their  Scriptures.  He  dis- 
puted with  those  who  gathered  in  the  Forum  to  dis- 
cuss every  new  and  strange  subject  or  philosophy.  He 


168 


(: TWENTY-FIFTH  SUNDAY.) 


would  have  no  dull  nor  weak  antagonists.  He  would 
be  persecuted  by  no  mob.  He  would  be  heard  with 
respectful  attention,  if  he  had  anything  to  say  which 
the  Athenians  thought  worthy  their  attention.  There, 
to  the  mingled  gathering,  he  preached  Jesus  and  the 
resurrection ; and  there,  while  he  taught  these  simple 
doctrines,  he  met  the  human  philosophers,  in  all  the 
pride  of  their  worldly  wisdom — the  Stoics  and  Epicu- 
reans who  came  into  the  Forum.  One  man  said,  What 
does  this  talking-fellow 6 say  ? And  another,  He  seems 
to  be  a proclaimer  of  strange  gods. 

How  contrary  Paul’s  simple  doctrines  were  to  all 
their  philosophy.  He  preached  simply  that  Jesus  was 
the  Saviour  of  men  from  sin,  and  that  there  would  be  a 
resurrection  from  the  dead.  Neither  the  Stoics  nor 
Epicureans  believed  there  was  any  need  of  being  saved, 
or  that  there  would  be  any  resurrection.  The  Stoics 
were  pantheists : they  believed  the  world  or  the  uni- 
verse was  itself  God,  a great  living  machine  that  rolled 
on  from  eternity  to  eternity.  The  Epicureans  were 
atheists : they  believed  there  was  no  God.  Both  said 
that  the  soul  of  man  would  expire  with  his  body,  and 
so  that  there  could  be  no  resurrection.  The  Stoics 
taught  a proud  indifference  to  all  joy,  grief,  anger, 
change  in  life,  care,  thought  for  the  future.  The  Epi- 
cureans taught  a love  for  everything  which  could  give 
pleasure,  without  thought  of  right  or  wrong  ; that  men 
should  not  of  course  seek  pleasure  which  brought  pain 
with  it,  unless  the  pleasure  would  be  more  than  the 
pain ; but  that  men  should  do  what  would  give  them 

6 The  Greek  word  rendered  ‘babbler’  meant  originally  a seed- 
picker , like  a bird  who  picks  up  seed,  and  afterwards  one  who  picked 
up  items  or  scraps  of  knowledge.  In  the  light  of  all  their  ideas  of 
eloquence,  it  was  therefore  a sharp  sarcasm  when  the  Athenians  said  : 
4 What  does  this  item-monger,  or  dealer  in  small-talk,  say  ? ’ 


THE  GRECIAN  CAPITAL. 


169 


the  greatest  amount  of  pleasure  in  the  whole  life.  The 
Stoic  was  therefore  taught  to  depend  on  himself  for 
everything.  He  scorned  to  receive  aid  from  any  per- 
son or  thing ; and  so  he  did  not  icish , he  thought  he 
did  not  need  a Saviour.  The  preaching  of  Jesus  was 
foolishness  to  him.  The  Epicureans  sought  gratifica- 
tion only.  The  doctrines  of  Paul  forbade  many  kinds 
of  pleasure  as  wicked.  The  preaching  of  Jesus  was 
foolishness  to  them. 

Still  there  were  some  in  the  gathering  who  wished 
to  know  more  of  this  new  doctrine  ; and  they,  eager  to 
know  the  latest  kind  of  religion,  as  well  as  the  latest 
news,  brought  Paul  to  Areopagus.  “ Demosthenes, 
four  hundred  years  before,  had  rebuked  the  Athenians 
for  their  idle  curiosity,  telling  them  they  were  always 
craving  after  news  and  excitement,  even  when  destruc- 
tion itself  was  hanging  over  their  liberties and  in 
Paul’s  time,  the  Athenians  were  still  as  eager  as  ever 
6 to  tell  or  to  hear  some  new  thing.’ 


{TWENTY-FIFTH  SUNDAY.) 


QUESTIONS. 

TO  wliat  place  in  the  city  would  Paul  go  first  ? 

How  would  a synagogue  be  esteemed  in  Athens  ? 

What  three  public  places  would  attract  Paul’s  notice? 
What  was  the  Market-place  ? 

What  three  hills  on  three  sides  ? 

What  was  done  in  this  market-place  and  at  the  Pynx  ? 
What  4 people  ’ met  here  ? 

How  would  it  compare  with  the  open  business-squares 
of  modern  cities  ? 

What  peculiar  class  of  buildings  ? 

What  two  especially  noted  ? 

What  statues  of  great  men  ? 

What  could  be  seen  on  Mars’  Hill  from  the  Forum  ? 
What  does  Areopagus  mean  ? 

What  was  it  mainly  famous  for  ? 

What  does  Acropolis  mean  ? 

Where  was  it  ? What  was  it  ? 

To  what  did  an  orator  liken  the  Acropolis  ? . 

What  was  on  the  top  of  this  hill  ? 

Name  some  of  the  gods  and  some  of  the  men  whose 
statues  were  there. 

What  was  the  principal  building  of  the  Acropolis  ? 

To  whom  was  it  dedicated  ? Who  was  she  ? 

What  three  statues  of  her,  and  what  were  their  charac- 
teristics ? 

Ho  you  suppose  Paul  failed  to  visit  the  Acropolis  ? 
What,  outside  of  the  city,  could  Paul  have  seen  from  the 
Acropolis  ? 

What  schools  were  within  the  city? 

What  was  the  difference  between  a Stoic  and  an  Epicu- 
rean ? 

What  Was  the  chief  cause  of  Paul’s  earnest  zeal  ? 

What  is  the  significance  of  4 Therefore  disputed  he’  ? 
Who  were  4 the  devout  persons  ’ ? 

Whom  would  Paul  meet  in  the  Forum  ? 

(49) 


(TWENTY-FIFTH  SUNDAY.) 


IIow  would  he  be  received  ? 

What  two  opinions  were  expressed  in  respect  to  them  ? 
What  does  4 babbler  ’ mean  ? 

What  did  such  a question  mean  in  the  mouth  of  an 
Athenian  ? 

What  does  4 setter  forth  ’ mean  ? 

What  did  Paul  preach  in  the  Forum  ? 

Was  this  the  doctrine  of  the  general  resurrection  or  of 
the  resurrection  of  J esus  ? 

Why  was  this  doctrine  especially  connected  with  the 
preaching  about  Jesus  ? 

What  did  the  Stoics  and  Epicureans  believe  ? 

What  were  the  Stoics  in  respect  to  their  belief  in  a God  ? 
' the  Epicureans  ? 

What  other  difference  was  there  in  their  teachings  ? 
Why  was  the  preaching  of  Jesus  foolishness  to  the  Stoic  ? 

Why  to  the  Epicurean  ? 

Why  did  they  take  Paul  to  Mars’  Hill  ? 

What  does  4 new  doctrine  ’ refer  to  ? 

What  did  Demosthenes  rebuke  the  Athenians  for  ? 

Is  it  wrong  to  wish  to  learn  4 the  news  ’ ? 

Is  it  wise  to  he  seeking  a new  religion  ? 

Were  the  Athenians  right  or  wrong  in  seeking  to  learn 
the  new  religion  which  Paul  brought  ? 

Was  Paul  tight  in  taking  advantage  of  their  curiosity  ? 

(50) 


* 


Cfomig-sktlj  Simbiro* 


MAES’  HILL. 


LESSON. 

Acts  xvii.  22-34. 

44  /THE  place  to  which  the  Athenians  took  Paul  was 
the  summit  of  the  hill  of  Areopagus,  where  the 
most  awful  court  of  Athens  had  sat  from  the  earliest 
times,  to  pass  sentence  on  the  greatest  criminals,  and 
to  decide  the  most  solemn  questions  of  religion.  The 
judges  sat  in  the  open  air,  on  seats  hewn  out  in  the 
rook ; and  the  place  was  reached  by  a flight  of  stone 
steps  directly  from  the  Forum.  On  this  spot,  a long 
series  of  awful  causes  connected  with  crime  and  religion 
had  been  decided.”  The  first  one  of  all  was  fabled  to 
have  been  a trial  of  Mars,  on  charge  of  murdering  a 
son  of  Neptune.  Mars  was  acquitted,  and  hence  the 
place  was  called  Mars’  Hill,  (Areopagus.1)  The  temple 
of  Mars  was  on  the  brow  of  the  hill.  The  sanctuary  of 
the  Furies,  the  avenging  goddesses,  who  punished  the 
condemned  by  taking  away  peace  of  mind  and  giving 
misery  and  misfortune,  was  just  below  t]ie  judges’  seat, 
in  a broken  cleft  of  the  rock,  and  gave  great  solemnity 
to  the  place.  “ Even  in  the  decay  of  Athens,  in  Paul’s 
time,  the  people  regarded  this  spot  and  this  court  with 
superstitious  reverence.  Here  they  thought  of  the 
dread  recollections  of  centuries.  It  was  the  place  of 
silent  awe  in  the  midst  of  the  gay  and  frivolous  city. 


^ee  page  163,  note  1. 


MAES’  IIILZ. 


m 


To  come  from  the  Forum  to  Areopagus,  was  to  come 
into  the  presence  of  a higher  power.  No  place  in  Athens 
was  so  suitable  for  a discourse  on  the  doctrines  and 
mysteries  of  religion and  when  the  novelty-loving 
and  religious  Athenians  found  Paul’s  conversations  and 
address  to  the  people  in  the  Forum  were  about  religion, 
they  brought  him  hither  to  hear  him.  “ They  took  the 
Apostle  from  the  tumult  of  public  discussion,  to  the 
place  most  convenient  and  most  appropriate.  There 
was  everything  in  the  place  to  incline  those  who  came 
to  a reverent  and  thoughtful  attention.  It  is  probable 
that  Dionysius  and  other  Areopagites,  were  on  the 
judicial  seats.  The  dread  thoughts  associated  with  the 
hill  of  Mars,  may  have  solemnized  the  minds  of  some 
of  the  people  who  crowded  up  the  stone  steps  with  the 
Apostle,  to  hear  his  announcement  of  new  divinities.” 
Think  now  of  the  Apostle  on  the  summit  of  Mars’ 
Hill.  Think  of  the  intense  earnestness  of  Paul,  and  of 
the  frivolous  character  of  his  hearers.  Think  of  the 
certainty,  the  truth,  the  solemn  meaning  of  the  Gospel 
he  preached,  and  of  the  worthless  religion  and  mytholo- 
gy which  made  Athens  famous  in  the  earth.  Think  of 
all  the  temples,  statues,  idols,  altars  around  him,  and  of 
what  he  said  about  temples  and  idols.  Close  to  him 
was  the  temple  of  Mars.  Just  below  him  was  the 
abode  of  the  Furies.  Opposite,  on  the  Acropolis,  was 
the  splendid  Parthenon  of  Minerva.  Yet  here  Paul 
boldly  declares  that  4 God  dwells  not  in  temples  made 
with  hands.’  44  Wherever  his  eye  turned,  he  saw  a 
multitude  of  statues  in  every  form  and  situation.  Right 
in  front  of  him,  towering  from  its  pedestal  on  the  rock 
of  the  Acropolis,  was  the  immense  brazen  statue  of 
Minerva,  armed  with  spear,  shield,  and  helmet,  as  the 
champion  of  Athens.  Standing  almost  in  its  very  shade, 


172 


{TWENTY-SIXTH  SUNDAY.) 


he  declared  that  the  Godhead  is  not  to  he  likened  to 
that  work  of  Phidias,  or  to  any  other  image  in  gold , 
silver  or  stone , graven  hy  art  or  man's  device .” 

Among  all  the  altars,  he  had  noticed  one  with  the 
singular  inscription*  ‘ To  the  Unknown  God ,’  as  though 
the  superstitious  people  would  not  omit  from  their  wor- 
ship one.  possible  god  whom  they  might  not  know. 
This  inscription  Paul  took  for  the  text  of  his  address  on 
Mars’  Hill. 

THE  ADDRESS  ON  MARS’  HILL. 

It  is  not  the  object  of  this  address  to  prove  that  Jesus 
is  the  Messiah , as  it  was  in  the  address  at  Antioch  of 
Pisidia ; 2 but  to  prove  to  idolaters  that  there  is  one 
God , and  that  Jesus,  of  whom  he  had  spoken  in  the 
Forum,  would  be  the  final  Judge  of  men’s  good  and 
evil  deeds. 

I.  The  Introduction : The  Unknown  God , (verses  22, 
23.) 

Notice  with  what  courtesy  and  with  what  carefulness 
Paul  adapts  his  introduction  to  his  Athenian  audience. 
He  was  speaking  to  men  accustomed  to  oratory  and  to  el- 
oquence. He  was  speaking  in  a place  where  men  had  been 
condemned  for  religious  offences.  He  does  not  com- 
mence, therefore,  by  saying  that  it  was  wrong  to  make 
these  statues  and  idols.  He  might  have  lost  the  attention 
of  his  audience,  and  the  opportunity  for  an  argument : 
he  might  even  have  put  his  life  in  danger,  if  he  had  at- 
tacked at  once  their  national  gods.  In  commencing, 
therefore,  he  only  speaks  of  what  he,  as  a traveller  and 
stranger,  had  seen  in  their  city.  Every  ear  would  be 
delicately  attentive : “ Ye  men  of  Athens,  I perceive 
that  in  all  things  you  are  very  religious .3  For,  passing 

2 See  pages  66,  67. 

8 Our  English  translation  is  generally  correct,  but  does  not  quite 


MARS'  HILL. 


173 


through  your  city,  and  beholding  the  objects  of  your 
worship,  I saw  an  altar  on  which  was  written  : To  the 
Unknown  God.  This  God,  whom  you  worship  igno- 
rantly, I wish  to  make  known  to  you.” 

II.  This  unknown  god  is  the  one  only  God,  (verses 
24  to  26.) 

The  reasons  why  he  only  is  God,  are  : 

1.  (Verse  24.)  He  created  all  things.  He  is  Kuler, 
therefore,  of  all  heaven  and  all  earth.  He  is  therefore 
infinitely  greater  than  the  human  temple  of  any  other 
god,  or  than  the  temples  of  all  other  gods. 

2.  (Verse  25.)  He  does  not  need  worship,  as  other 
gods  seem  to  do.  He  himself  gives  life,  breath,  all 
things,  to  the  very  worshippers. 

3.  (Verse  26.)  He  created  all  men.  He  made  them 
all  of  one  blood.4  He  fixed  t^e  time  of  their  existence 
in  the  world,  and  the  length  of  their  stay  on  earth. 

III.  All  men  alike  ought  to  worship  this  one  God, 
(verses  27,  28.) 

1.  Because  he  declares  that  he  created  all  things, 
that  he  created  men,  that  he  decides  the  length  and 
place  of  every  life  in  order  that  men  should  seek  him 
and  find  him , that  is,  worship  him. 

2.  Because,  as  he  created  us  at  the  first,  so  he  now 
gives  us  life  jand  breath , every  day  and  every  hour. 
Your  own  poets,  too,  say  the  same  thing : that  ice  are 
the  offspring  of  God  : that  is,  that  we  obtain  life  from 
him . 

express  the  idea  of  the  Greek,  in  the  words,  ‘ too  superstitious.*  The 
Greek  words  rather  mean,  ‘ move  careful  about  religious  things  ’ than 
other  people.  How  true  it  was  ! t 

4 ‘ Of  one  blood.'  The  Greeks  boastfully  claimed  an  origin  for 
themselves,  different  from  the  rest  of  the  world.  All  beside  Greeks 
were  1 Barbarians.’  Romans  i.  14. 


i 74  {TWENTY-SIXTH  S UNHA  Y.) 

IV.  God,  then,  cannot  be  a statue  or  an  image , (verse 
29.) 

If  we  are  the  offspring  of  God,  he  is  our  Father.  As 
we  are  living  flesh  and  blood  and  spirit,  our  Father 
cannot  be  a gold  or  silver  image,  carved  and  graven  by 
art,  or  a marble  statue,  chiselled  by  man’s  device,  like 
all  these  images  and  statues,  like  the  beautiful  and  co- 
lossal image  of  Minerva  yonder,  formed  by  the  art  and 
device  of  the  sculptor  Phidias. 

V.  God  overlooks  the  past , provided  you  will  now 
repent  and  prepare  for  his  judgment-day,  (verses  30,  31, 
first  part.) 

VI.  Jesus  of  Nazareth  is  to  be  the  Judge  at  that  day , 
(verse  31.)  That  Jesus  of  whom  I spoke  to  you  in 
the  Forum,  is  God’s  appointed  Judge  for  that  day, 
when  every  man  shall  give  account  tof  himself  to 
God.  God  has  given  us  proof  that  Jesus  is  to  be  his 
Judge  at  that  day,  because  he  raised  Jesus  from  the 
dead. 

Paul  was  perhaps  going  to  show  why  the  resurrec- 
tion of  Jesus  proved  that  he  would  be  the  Judge  at  the 
judgment-day,  but  he  was  suddenly  interrupted.  “Some 
of  those  who  listened  broke  out  into  laughter  and  de- 
rision. The  doctrine  of  c resurrection 5 was  to  them 
ridiculous.  Others  said,  with  a polite  indifference,  that 
they  would  hear  him  again  on  the  subject.  We  have 
no  knowledge  that  they  sought  Paul  to  hear  him  again. 
Curiosity  was  gratified.  For  the  rest,  they  simply  did 
not  care. 

Although  Paul’s  address  was  adapted  to  win  them, 
the  cultivated  and  polished  Athenians  politely,  declined 
to  hear  him,  the  common  people  derided  him.  In  the 
midst  of  the  derision  of  some  and  the  indifference  of 
others,  Paul  was  dismissed  and  the  assembly  dispersed. 


MARS'  HILL . 


175 


And  yet  the  result  from  all  his  labor  was  successful ; 
for  a few  souls  heard  and  believed : even  one  of  the 
Areopagites,  and  also  one  of  the  common  crowd,  a 
woman,  and  some  others. 

“It  is  a serious  and  instructive  fact,  fhat  the  mercan- 
tile people*  received  the  message  of  God  with  greater 
readiness  than  the  highly  cultivated  and  polished  Athe- 
nians. Two  letters  to  Thessalonica  and  two  to  Corinth, 
cities  on  either  side  of  Athens,  show  the  flourishing 
state  of  those  churches.  But  we  have  no  letter  written 
by  Paul  to  the  Athenians  ; and  we  do  not  read  that 
Paul  was  ever  in  Athens  again.” 


* Of  Thessalonica  and  of  Corinth. 


( TWENTY-SIXTH  SUNDAY.) 


QUESTIONS. 

1WHERE  did  the  Athenians  take  Paul  ? 

' ’ How  was  this  place  reached  from  the  Forum  ? 

What  made  this  place  especially  sacred  ? 

Why  was  it  called  Areopagus  ? 

Why  was  it  a suitable  place  to  which  to  bring  Paul  ? 
Contrast  now  some  of  the  things  around  Paul  with  Paul's? 
spirit. 

Show  the  force  of  1 God  dwells  not  in  temples,’  etc. 

Show  the  force  of  4 the  Godhead  is  not  like  unto  gold,’ 
etc. 

What  was  the  text  of  Paul’s  address  ? 

How  does  the  object  of  this  address  differ  from  his  ob- 
ject at  Antioch  in  Pisidia? 

L What  verses  contain  the  Introduction  ? 

What  is  the  subject  of  the  Introduction? 

Did  Paul  say  at  once  that  idolatry  was  wrong  ? Why  ? 
What  kind  of  an  audience  was  he  speaking  to? 

How  does  he  gain  their  eager  attention  ? 

What  does  ‘too  superstitious’  mean? 

What  does  ‘ devotions  ’ mean  ? 

Do  you  think  any  particular  ‘ unknown  god  ’ was  meant 
by  the  inscription  ? 

Was  it  right  for  Paul  to  apply  this  inscription  to  the  true 
God? 

II.  What  is  the  second  head  of  the  Address  ? 

What  is  the  first  reason  ? 

Does  God  never  dwell  in  earthly  temples  ? 

What  is  the  second  reason  ? 

If  God  does  not  need  worship,  why  should  we  worship 
him? 

If  God  gives  all  things  to  men,  why  should  we  ask  him 
for  them  ? 

What  is  the  third  reason  f 

What  did  the  Greeks  boast  for  themselves  ? 


(: TWENTY-SIXTH  SUNDAY.) 

What  does  ‘ determined  the  times  before  appointed’ 
mean  ? 

What  is  meant  by  1 bounds  of  their  habitation  ’ ? 

III.  What  is  the  third  head  of  the  Address  ? 

1.  Why  did  God  create  all  men  and  fix  their  times  ? 
What  does  ‘feel  after  him  and  find  him  ’ mean  ? 

2.  What  does  God  besides  create  us  ? 

W hich  requires  more  power,  to  preserve  us  or  to  create  us  ? 
What  quotation  does  Paul  make  in  proof  ? 

IV.  What  is  the  fourth  head  ? 

Give  the  meaning  of  the  twenty-ninth  verse  ? 

What  gold  and  ivory  image  was  there  on  the  Acropolis? 
What  image  of  brass  ? 

What  kind  of  stone  images  at  Athens  ? 

V.  What  is  the  fifth  head  ?- 

What  is  meant  by  ‘ the  times  of  this  ignorance  ’ ? 

What  is  meant  by  ‘ winked  at’  ? 

Does  God  overlook  ignorance  of  his  law  ? 

How  far  is  ignorance  an  excuse  for  sin  ? 

What  does  he  now  require  for  which  we  cannot  offer  ig- 
norance as  an  excuse  ? 

What  ‘ day  ’ has  God  appointed  ? For  what  ? 

What  does  ‘ in  righteousness  ’ mean  ? 

Will  there  be  any  complaint  then  that  our  ignorance 
or  our  weakness  was  not  considered  in  the  deci- 
sion ? 

VI.  What  is  the  sixth  head  ? 

Whom  does  4 that  man  ’ mean  ? 

Where  had  Paul  spoken  of  Him  before  ? 

How  has  God  given  proof  that  He  is  to  be  the  Judge  ? 
Why  did  the  Athenians  break  in  upon  Paul’s  speech  at  this 
point  ? 

What  two  kinds  of  conduct  were  shown  ? 

What  two  kinds  of  people  probably  were  represented? 
Was  Paul’s  address  successful? 

What  is  an  Areopagite  ? 

When  is  preaching  successful  ? 

(52) 


Cixrwig-Sffrmtlj  Srntbag. 


“THE  CITY  OF  THE  TWO  SEAS.” 


LESSON. 

Acts  xviii.  1-5. 

T)AUL  must  have  gone  to  Corinth  by  one  of  two 
routes.  He  took  either  the  coast-road  through  Eleu- 
sis  and  Megara  or  the  shorter  sail  of  a few  hours  in  one  of 
the  many  ships  plying  between  the  Piraeus  and  Cenchrea. 
When  he  reached  Corinth,  he  was  in  a place  far  differ- 
ent from  Athens.  Athens  was  a Greek  free  city.  Corinth 
was  a Roman  colony.  It  was  like  going  from  Thessa- 
lonica  to  Philippi.1  Athens  was  a university  town  : 
Corinth  was  a business  town.  It  was  something  like 
going  from  Oxford  to  London.  Athens  had  once  been 
greater  politically  than  Corinth ; but  in  Paul’s  time 
Athens  had  lost  its  business  character,  retaining  chiefly 
its  renown  for  learning,  while  Corinth  was  c a new  and 
splendid  city,5  rebuilt  by  Julius  Caesar,  after  having 
been  once  destroyed,  and  now  kept  in  order  by  a Ro- 
man Pro-consul.  It  was  a most  important  town.  It 
was  situated  on  the  isthmus  between  the  two  seas.  By 
mounting  to  the  summit  of  the  hill2 * *  at  Corinth,  ^ve  gain 

1 See  page  153,  and  132,  133. 

2 The  fortified  citadel  called,  like  the  Acropolis  at  Athens,  (see  note 

4,  page  160,)  Acro-Corinthus , summit  of  Corinth.  It  was  two  thou- 

sand feet  high  above  the  sea,  its  sides  steep,  and  the  shadow  reached 
half-way  across  the  isthmus.  The  space  on  the  summit  was  large 

enough  for  a town. 


THE  CITY  OF  THE  TWO  SEAS: 


177 


a c magnificent  and  extensive  view.’  There  is  a sea  on 
the  north  and  a sea  on  the  south-east.  The  Acropolis 
of  Athens  can  be  seen  forty-five  miles  away.  The  moun- 
tains of  Attica  are  in  the  eastern  horizon.  On  the  other 
side  “ are  the  large  masses  of  mountains  of  north-eastern 
Greece,  with  Mount  Parnassus  towering  at  Delphi.” 
The  city  lies  at  your  feet.  On  either  side  at  the  coast 
is  a harbor : on  the  eastern  sea,  Cenchrea,  on  the  west- 
ern sea,  Lecheum.  Hence  Corinth  was  called  by  the 
poets  ‘The  City  of  the  Two  Seas.’  It  had  been  and 
still  was  to  some  extent  the  crossing-place  of  two  great 
routes  of  travel : the  land-travelWo^  the  isthmus  from 
the  continent  to  the  Peloponessus  and  the  travel  across 
the  isthmus  from  sea  to  sea.  It  had  been  therefore  and 
still  was  a city  of  great  military  importance ; for  it 
controlled  both  routes.  In  ancient  and  in  more  modern 
times,  nations  have  fought  for  the  control  of  this  town 
and  its  citadel. 

Here,  more  than  anywhere  else,  would  you  see  the 
Greek  race  in  all  its  life  and  activity.  For  hundreds 
of  years  before  Paul’s  time  the  inhabitants  of  Corinth 
had  gone  out  in  companies  and  colonized  on  many  of 
the  coasts  of  Europe  in  the  west  and  east.  As  the  col- 
onies grew,  the  people  of  these  towns  used  to  come 
back  to  Corinth  to  trade  and  to  see  their  native  city. 
Ships  came  from  every  sea  to  her  two  harbors.  In  this 
city,  too,  were  manufactures  in  metals,  in  dyeing  and  in 
porcelain,  from  which  wares  were  sold  to  all  countries. 
At  certain  times  in  the  year  the  streets  were  crowded 
by  strangers  who  came  to  attend  the  Isthmian  Games. 
In  Paul’s  time  there  was  much  of  the  ancient  activity  and 
life,  although  the  old  city  had  been  destroyed  and  a 
new  one,  years  afterwards,  founded  by  the  Roman  em- 
peror. We  must  think  of  Corinth,  then,  when  Paul 
landed  at  Cenchrsea,  as  a colony  of  the  Roman  Empire, 


178 


( T WENTY-SE VENTH  SUNDAY.} 


in  which  Jews  and  Greeks  were  more  numerous  than 
Romans,  and  as  the  capital3  of  the  Roman  province  of 
Achaia. 

We  can  think  of  three  reasons  why  Paul  came  from 
Athens  to  Corinth : First.  The  discouragement  he  met 
at  Athens.  Secondly.  Corinth  “ was  a large  business  city, 
in  immediate  communication  with  Rome  and  the  western 
Mediterranean,  with  Thessalonica  and  Ephesus  in  the 
./Eg can  Sea  and  with  Antioch  and  Alexandria  in  the 
east : the  Gospel,  if  established  there,  would  spread 
everywhere.”  Thirdly.  Jews  were  numerous  in  Corinth. 
There  were  “ communities  of  scattered  Jews  in  various 
parts  of  the  province,”  more  or  less  connected  with 
Corinth.  “A  religion  which  was  first  to  be  planted  in 
the  synagogue,  and  intended  thence  to  scatter  its  seeds 
over  all  parts  of  the  earth,  could  nowhere  find  a more 
favorable  soil  than  among  the  Hebrew  families  at 
Corinth.” 

“At  this  particular  time  there  was  a greater  number 
of  Jews  than  usual  in  the  city ; for  they  had  lately  been 
banished  from  Rome  by  command  of  the  Emperor 
Claudius  Caesar.”  One  historian  says  “ that  Claudius 
drove  the  Jews  from  Rome  because  they  were  inces- 
santly raising  tumults  at  the  instigation  of  a certain 
Chrestus.  Much  has  been  written  concerning  this  sen- 
tence of  the  historian.  Some  have  thought  that  there 
was  really  a Jew  called  Chrestus,  who  excited  political 
disturbances  : others  that  the  name  is  used  by  mistake 
for  Christus,  and  that  the  disturbances  arose  from  the 
Jewish  expectations  concerning  the  Messiah  or  Christ. 
The  events  at  least  followed  the  actual  appearance  .of 
Christ .” 

3 Athens  was  the  ancient  capital,  before  Greece  was  conquered. 
But  under  the  Romans  Corinth  was  capital  of  Greece,  and  Greece  was 
now  the  province  of  Achaia. 


THE  CITY  OF  TEE  TWO  SEAS: 


179 


Aquila  and  Priscilla  were  among  the  Jews  banished 
and  among  those  who  came  to  Corinth.  They  were 
natives  of  Pontus,  a province  on  the  Euxine  (Black) 
Sea,  directly  north  of  Antioch  in  Syria.  When  Peter 
preached  on  the  day  of  Pentecost  at  Jerusalem,  there 
were  men  from  Pontus4  in  the  assembly.  Possibly 
Aquila  and  Priscilla  were  there ; or  they  may  have  heard 
the  Gospel  at  home  in  Pontus  from  those  who  were 
in  Jerusalem  at  the  feast  of  Pentecost.  For  some  rea- 
son they  had  gone  to  Home  ; and  they  were  now  ban- 
ished from  Rome  to  pursue  their  trade  in  Corinth.  As 
they  were  tent-makers,  Paul  c abode  ’ with  them.  If 
they  were  not  already  Christians,  they  soon  became  so.6 
With  them  Paul  labored  at  the  trade  which  no  doubt 
his  father  taught  him  in  his  youth.  “ Those  who  visited 
Aquila  at  Corinth,  in  the  working  hours  found  Paul 
quietly  occupied  with  the  same  work  as  his  fellow-labor- 
ers. Though  he  knew  the  Gospel  to  be  a matter  of  life 
„ and  death  to  the  soul,  he  gave  himself  to  an  ordinary 
trade  with  as  much  zest  as  though  he  had  no  other  oc- 
cupation. He  c labored  working  with  his  own  hand  5 
among  the  Corinthians,  as  he  afterwards  reminded 
them,”6  so  that  no  one  could  reproach  him  with  in- 
dolence or  any  selfish  motives  in  preaching. 

“ The  Sabbath  was  a day  of  rest.  On  that  day  the 
Jews  laid  aside  their  tent-making  and  their  other  trades, 
and  amid  the  derision  of  their  Gentile  neighbors  went 
to  the  synagogue.”  There,  as  often  as  the  Sabbath  re 
turned,  Paul  reasoned  with  both  Jews  and  Greeks. 
“ His  countrymen  listened  with  incredulity  or  convic- 
tion, while  he  i endeavored  to  persuade’  them  to  be- 
lieve in  J esus  the  promised  Messiah  and  the  Saviour  of 
the  world.”  The,  result  seems  to  have  been  that  he  was 


4 Acts  ii.  9. 


6 Yerse  26. 


6 1.  Corinthians  iv.  12. 


180 


{TWENTY-SEVENTH  SUNDAY.) 


far  more  successful  among  the  Greeks  than  with  his 
countrymen. 

While  he  was  thus  working  in  the  week  and  preaching 
on  the  Sabbath,  Timothy  and  Silas  returned.  It  seems 
they  did  not  reach  Athens  before  Paul  left  that  place. 
Perhaps  they  sailed  directly  from  Thessalonica  or  Dium7 
to  Cenchnea ; or  they  may  have  come  by  land  to  Attica, 
and  from  Athens  down  the  isthmus.  What  news  would 
they  bring  from  Thessalonica  ? Good  news  it  was  in- 
deed, as  we  know  from  the  first  letter  of  Paul  to  the 
Thessalonians : news  of  steadfast  converts,  of  men  of 
hith,  of  diligent  and  careful  4 Christians.’ 

Their  arrival,  and  the  good  news  they  brought,  pro- 
duced 44  an  instant  increase  of  zeal  and  energy”  in  Paul, 
especially  against  the  opposers  who  now  began  to  re- 
sist his  teachings  44  He  himself  declares  that  he  was 
in  Corinth  4 in  weakness  and  in  fe&r  and  in  much  trem- 
bling,’8 but  4 God,  who  comforteth  those  that  are  cast 
down,  comforted  him  by  the  coming  ’ 9 of  his  friends. 
It  was  not  the  only  time  that  Paul  derived  strength, 
when  4 he  saw  the  brethren  and  thanked  God  and  took 
courage.’10  And  now,  with  much  greater  emphasis  than 
before,  he  preached  to  his  fellow-Israelites  and  urged 
them  to  receive  Jesus  of  Nazareth  as  their  Messiah. 

T Sec  page  158.  8 1.  Corinthians  ii.  3.  9 II.  Corinthians  vii.  8. 

« 10  Acts  xxviii.  15. 


{TWENTY-SEVENTH  SUNDAY.) 


QUESTIONS. 

YYT HAT  two  routes  from  Athens  to  Corinth  ? 

* * How  do  w^e  suppose  Paul  went  ? 

What  difference  between  Athens  and  Corinth  ? 

Why  was  it  like  going  from  Thessalonica  to  Philippi  ? 
Why  was  it  something  like  going  from  Oxford  to  Lon- 
don ? 

Which  was  the  greater  city  ? 

How  had  Athens  changed  ? 

What  advantage  was  there  in  the  situation  of  Corinth  ? 
What  was  the  Acro-Corinthus  ? 

What  could  be  seen  from  it  ? 

Why  was  this  citadel  important  ? 

What  two  harbors  had  Corinth  ? 

What  two  lines  of  travel  passed  through  Corinth  ? 
Would  Paul  see  more  of  the  real  Greek  people  in  Athens  or 
in  Corinth  ? 

Why  did  the  people  come  back  to  the  city  ? 

What  manufactures  in  Corinth  ? 

Why  were  the  streets  crowded  at  certain  times  of  the 
year  ? 

What  was  the  capital  of  Greece  in  Paul’s  time  ? 

What  was  the  name  of  the  province  then  ? 

What  three  reasons  may  be  given  why  Paul  came  to  Corinth  ? 
Why  were  there  more  J ews  than  usual  in  the  city  ? 
Who  was  ‘ Claudius  ’ ? 

What  reason  is  given  why  he  drove  the  Jews  from 
Rome  ? 

What  is  that  historian  supposed  to  mean  ? 

What  two  banished  Jews  came  to  Corinth  ? 

What  country  were  they  natives  of? 

Where  was  that  province  ? 

Where  had  men  from  that  province  heard  the  Gospel? 
Do  you  suppose  they  were  Christians  ? 

How  could  they  have  heard  the  Gospel  ? 

What  was  their  trade  ? 


(: TWENTY-SEVENTH  SUNDAY. ) 


Was  it  necessary  for  Paul  to  labor? 

Was  it  degrading  to  his  Apostolic  authority  to  labor  ? 

Is  it  honorable  to  be  unwilling  to  labor  ? Is  it  right  ? 

Where  does  he  remind  the  Corinthians  of  his  labor 
among  them  ? 

What  reason  may  be  given  for  his  labor  ? 

On  vhat  day  of  the  week  did  the  J ews  go  to  their  synagogue  ? 

What  especial  doctrine  would  Paul  4 reason  ’ about  ? 

In  respect  to  what  did  he  1 persuade  ’ them  ? 

Who  came  during  this  time  ? 

Had  Paul  been  in  Corinth  over  more  than  one  Sabbath  ? 

From  what  place  had  Paul  sent  word  to  Timothy  and 
Silas  ? 

How  did  they  come  from  Macedonia  ? From  what 
place  ? 

What  news  did  they  bring  ? 

What  is  meant  by  4 pressed  in  the  Spirit  ’ ? 

Was  this  the  effect  of  the  good  news  or  of  the  immedi- 
ate influence  of  the  Spirit  ? 

Why  is  it  a good  thing  to  have  news  from  earnest 
churches  and  of  revivals,  told  in  other  churches  ? 

Is  it  right  to  rely  on  human  sympathy  for  our  religious 
earnestness  ? 

What  other  time  was  Paul  strengthened  by  the  coming 
of  friends  ? Where  ? 

What  did  Paul’s  earnestness  lead  him  to  do  ? 

What  is  meant  by  4 testified  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ  * ? 

What  is  the  test  of  genuine  religious  labor  ? 

(54) 


Smtbag. 


THE  FIRST  EPISTLE. 


LESSON. 

Acts  xviii.  5 -7;  I.  Thessalonians  i.  1. 

PAUL’S  increase  of  zeal  and  energy  “ was  net  the 
only  result  of  the  arrival  of  Timothy  and  Silas. 
Timothy  had  been  sent  while  Paul  was  at  Athens  to 
revisit  and  strengthen  the  church  of  Thessalonica.1  And 
now  the  news  he  brought  on  his  return  led  Paul  to  write 
to  his  beloved  Thessalonian  converts.  Paul  wrote  this 
letter  partly  to  show  his  affection  for  these  converts  and 
to  encourage  them  in  the  midst  of  their  per  seditions, 
and  in  part  to  correct  some  errors  into  which  they  had 
fallen.”  Uo  doubt  the  Jews  who  excited  the  idle  rab- 
ble of  Thessalonica  against  Paul  and  Silas  and  Jason 
would  continue  to  molest  the  Thessalonian  church  when- 
ever they  had  opportunity.  And  it  was  perhaps  but 
natural  that  these  believers,  who  had  had  so  little  in- 
struction, should  fall  into  some  mistakes.  “ Many  of 
the  new  converts  were  uneasy  about  the  state  of  their 
relatives  or  friends  who  had  died  since  their  conver- 
sion. Others,  thinking  Christ  w^as  soon  to  appear  at 
his  second  coming,  were  persuading  themselves  that 
they  need  no  longer  continue  their  usual  labor.  Others 
were  despising  the  gift  of  prophesying.”  To  assist  them 
in  these  troubles,  and  to  correct  their  error,  Paul  writes 
them  a most  affectionate  letter,  in  which  he  most  kindly 


1 1.  Thessalonians  iii.  1,  2. 


182 


(: TWENTY-EIGHTH  SUNDAY.) 


praises  and  encourages  them.  This  letter  is  the  First 
Epistle  to  the  Thessalonians. 

As  we  suppose  this  is  the  first  epistle3  which  Paul 
wrote  to  a church  of  believers,  and  his  other  epistles 
are  more  or  less  like  it,  it  is  well  for  us  to  stop  and 
think  a moment  of  the  general  subject  of  the  epistles 
before  we  go  on.  By  settling  two  or  three  questions  in 
respect  to  one,  we  settle  them  in  respect  to  all. 

I.  First,  then,  How  do  we  know  the  epistles  of  Paul 
were  written  on  his  journeys  ? They  must  have  been 
written  in  towns  on  his  journeys;  for  the  churches  to 
which  they  are  addressed  were  established  on  his  second 
and  third  jcfurneys,  and  he  journeyed  all  his  life  after- 
wards, till  he  was  prisoner  at  Rome.  Paul  first  preached 
the  Gospel  in  Galatia  and  Philippi  and  Thessalonica  and 
Corinth  and  Ephesus  ; and  it  is  not  likely  that  he  wrote 
his  letters  to  Galatians,  Philippians,  Thessalonians,  Co- 
rinthians, Ephesians,  during  the  very  short  time  between 
his  second  and  third  journeys,  when  he  was  in  Jerusa- 
lem, nor  during  that  turbulent  time  when  he  was  taken 
prisoner  and  sent  off  under  a Roman  guard  to  Caesarea. 
It  is  more  likely  that  he  wrote  them  in  places  where  he 
remained  a much  longer  time,  such  as  Corinth.  It 
would  be  unnatural  to  suppose  that  they  were  all  writ- 
ten from  Jerusalem  ; for  while  there  are  many  allusions 
to  Greek  and  Roman  names  and  places  and  events, 
there  are  few  allusions  to  indicate  that  the  writer  was 
in  Judea.  The  ancient  inscriptions  added  at  the  end 
of  the  Epistles,3  though  uninspired,  and  though  it  is 
thought  they  are  not  all  correct,  yet  all  show  they  were 
written  in  the  towns  along  his  journeys. 

II.  How  can  we  tell  where  each  epistle  was  written  ? 
We  cannot  certainly  decide.  We  can  only  judge  of 

2 See  note  12  page  184. 

3 See  the  end  of  the  various  Epistles. 


TIIE  FIRST  EPISTLE . 


183 


the  place  and  the  circumstances  in  which  the  Apostolic 
writer  is  by  what  the  Apostle  says  of  places  and  per- 
sons and  circumstances.  For  example,  in  this  first 
epistle  to  the  Thessalonians,  (1.)  Paul  speaks  as  if  he  had 
but  recently  come  from  Thessalonica,  and  as  if  the 
Thessalonian  believers  had  but  recently  been  converted . 
He  writes : ‘And  ye  became  followers  of  us*  having 
received  the  word  in  much  affliction ‘ Ye  were  en- 
samples  to  all  that  believe  in  Macedonia  and  Achaia ; 
for  they  show  what  manner  of  entering  in  we  had 
unto  you,  and  how  ye  turned  to  God  from  idols  :’5  c Ye 
know,  brethren,  our  entrance  unto  you  that  it  was  not 
in  vain,  but  after  that  we  suffered  at  Philippi , as  ye 
know  :’6  c We,  brethren,  having  been  taken  from  you 
for  a short  time  in  person?1  In  these  things,  Paul  cer- 
tainly writes  as  if  to  new  converts,  and  as  if  he  had 
lately  been  among  them.  (2.)  Paul  says  that  he  has 
lately  been  in  Athens.8  (3.)  He  declares  that  Timothy 
had  just  come  from  Thessalonica.9  This  letter  to  the 
Thessalonians  must  have  been  written,  then,  after  Tim- 
othy reached  Paul,  and  after  Paul  left  Athens  ; and  as 
Timothy  reached  Paul  at  Corinth,  after  Paul  had  left 
Athens  and  after  Paul  had  just  come,  a few  weeks  be- 
fore, from  Thessalonica,  and  as  ships  were  often  sailing 
too  from  Cenchnea  to  Thessalonica,  there  can  be  little 
doubt  that  Paul  wrote  this  first  letter  to  the  Thessalo- 
nians from  Corinth.10  In  the  same  manner,  we  are  to 
decide  where  each  epistle  was  written. 

4 1.  Thess.  i.  6. 4  5 i.  7.  6 * ii.  1,  2. 

7 ii.  17.  The  Greek  participle  is  past,  not  present. 

8 iii.  1.  9 iii.  6. 

10  You  will  notice  the  uninspired  inscription  at  the  end  of  the  epis- 

tle, added  by  another  writer,  says  the  epistle  was  written  from  Athens. 

This  is  generally  thought  by  scholars  to  be  a mistake.  They  agree 

that  the  Thessalonian  epistles  were  written  from  Corinth. 


184 


(: TWENTY-EIGHTIl  SUNDAY.) 


III.  If  these  epistles  are  simply  letters  written  by  a 
Christian  traveller  to  Christian  churches,  how  is  it  that 
they  are  inspired  Scripture  to  us  ? Some  persons  may 
think  the  dignity  and  authority  of  these  sacred  epistles 
are  lessened  by  the  thought  that  they  were  written  in 
journeying  ; but  we  must  remember  that  the  journeys 
were  missionary  journeys,  and  the  missionary  divinely 
inspired . Some  of  the  most  solemn  and  most  forcible 
appeals  to  Christian  churches  in  modern  times  have 
been  the  letters  of  'missionaries . If  they  had  been  in- 
spired, they  would  have  been  binding  on  us,  like  the 
Scriptures.  If  what  an  inspired  missionary  Apostle 
spoke  to  the  people  of  Thessalonica  when  he  was  in  * 
their  city  is  the  word  of  God  to  us,11  then  surely  what 
an  inspired  missionary  Apostle  wrote  to  the  believers  of 
that  same  place,  from  a city  a few  hundred  miles  away, 
is  the  word  of  God  to  us. 

It  is  well  for  us  also  to  take  up  one  of  these  epistles, 
and  by  dividing  it  into  parts  to  see  how  full  it  is  of  per- 
sonal kindness  and  affection.  We  will  see  in  this  epistle 
the  largeness  of  Paul’s  affectionate  nature. 

THE  FIRST  EPISTLE  TO  THE  THESSALOiNTANS.12 

I.  Paul  thanks  God  for  their  conversion. 

Remembering  their  faith,  love,  and  hope  while  he 
was  in  Thessalonica,13  and  how  earnestly  they  received 
the  Gospel  in  those  solemn  meetings,14  he  gives  thanks 
that,  in  affliction  or  persecution,  they  followed  his  own 
example,  and  became  examples  to  all  believers  in  Mace- 
donia and  Achaia.15  Recalling  to  their  minds  his  im- 
. 11  Acta  xvii.  2,  3. 

12  This  First  Epistle  U the  Thessalonians,  it  is  agreed,  is  the  first 
of  all  Paul's  Epistles.  There  is  difference  of  opinion  in  respect  to  the 
order  of  time  in  which  all  the  Epistles  were  written ; but  in  the  fu- 
ture lessons  we  will  follow  that  which  Conybeare  and  Howson  have 
adopted. 

13  I.  Thess.  i.  3.  14  i.  5.  15  i.  6-9. 


THE  FIRST  EPISTLE. 


185 


prisonment  in  Philippi,  and  the  boldness  necessary  to 
preach  afterwards  in  their  city,16  he  calls  them  to  wit- 
ness the  faithfulness  of  his  preaching,17  his  affectionate 
treatment  of  them,  as  a nurse18  and  a father19  their  own 
children,  his  daily  labor  to  support  himself,20  and  gites 
thanks  to  God  the  more  earnestly,  because  in  persecu- 
tion they  did  not  hesitate  to  follow  him,  a persecuted 
Apostle,  as  the  churches  in  Judea  had  followed  others.21 
(Chapters  i.  ii.  1-16.) 

II.  After  he  left  them,  he  longed  greatly  to  see 
them. 

Though  he  had  been  absent  from  them  only  a little 
while,  he  wished  more  than  one®  to  return,  but  was 
hindered.  He  calls  them  his  c glory  and  joy.’  (ii. 
17-20.) 

III.  As  he  could  not  then,  come  himself,  he  sent  Tim- 
othy to  them. 

Timothy  was  sent  fo  strengthen  them  in  the  faith 
and  to  comfort  them  in  the  persecution  which  Paul 
himself  had  foretold  would  come  upon  them.  (iii.  1-5.) 

IV.  He  is  full  of  joy  at  the  good  news  Timothy 
has  brought,  (iii.  6-13.) 

V.  He  advises  them  in  respect  to  their  temptations 
and  in  respect  to  Christian  virtues  : 

In  respect  to  impurity  and  defrauding,22  brotherly 
love,  quiet,  and  good  order  :23  in  respect  to  those  who 
have  died  and  the  Lord’s  second  coming.  He  comforts 
them  in  respect  to  the  dead  by  declaring  those  asleep 
in  Jesus  shall  live  with  Jesus.  He  comforts  them  in 
respect  to  the  second  coming  by  saying  they  4 are  not  in 
darkness,’  and  hence  not  likely  to  be  overtaken  by  the 
day  of  the  Lord  ’ as  by  a thief  in  the  night.  u Where- 
fore comfort  one  another  with  these  words.”24  He 

16  ii.  1,  2.  17  ii.  3-6.  18  ii.  7.  19  ii.  11.  20  ii.  9. 

21  ii.  14.  22  iv.  1-7.  23  iv.  9-12.  24  iv.  13,  14-18  ; v.  11, 


186 


{TWENTY-EIGHTH  SUNDAY.) 


gives  them  directions  in  respect  to  their  teachers  or 
pastors,25  the  4 unruly,5  the  4 feeble-minded,5  and  the 
4 weak  ;’26  and  in  respect  to  the  practical  virtues  of 
forgiveness,  joyfulness,  prayer,  thankfulness,  treatment 
of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  of  prophesying.27  (Chapters  iv. 
v.  1-22.) 

YI.  In  concluding,  he  asks  God’s  blessings  on  them, 
requests  their  prayers  for  himself,  and  commands  that 
this  letter  be  read  to  all  the  brethren,  (v.  23-28.)  ' 

Such  was  the  first  inspired  epistle,  written  by  the  es- 
pecial influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  adapted  to  the 
wants  of  the  Thessalonians : from  which  we,  taking 
into  account  our  changed  circumstances,  may  learn  the 
4 mind  of  the  Spirit.5 

In  Corinth  again  the  Jews  resisted  Paul ; and  again 
Paul  turned  to  the  Gentiles.  44  A proselyte  named 
Justus,  concerning  whom  we  know  nothing  more, 
opened  his  door  to  the  reject?d  Apostle.55  He  pro- 
bably 4 entered  into  5 Justus’s  house  to  meet  his  flock 
there.  He  was  shut  out  of  the  synagogue,  and  he 
must  have  some  place  to  teach  and  preach.  44  He 
doubtless  continued  to  lodge  with  Aquila  and  Pris- 
cilla.28 44  He  abode  there,  as  afterwards  at  Rome  in  4 his 
own  hired  lodging.5  5529  44  It  may  readily  be  supposed 

that  there  was  no  convenient  place  for  teaching  in  the 
manufactory  of  Aquila  and  Priscilla.55  Greeks  would 
not  be  likely  to  come  there  and  mingle  with  Jews 
lately  exiled  from  Rome.  44 Justus,  being  a proselyte, 
was  exactly  in  the  position  to  receive  under  his  roof 
both  Greeks  and  Hebrews.55 

26  v.  12,  13.  26  v.  14.  27  v.  16-22.  28  Luke  x.  5-7. 

29  Acts  xxviii.  30. 


(: TWENTY-EIGHTH  SUJgDAY,) 


QUESTIONS. 

WIIAT  other  result  of  the  arrival  of  Timothy  and  Silas  was 
* * there  ? 

Where  had  Timothy  been  sent  ? 

What  had  probably  continued  to  trouble  the  Thessalo- 
nian  church  ? 

What  three  mistakes  does  this  especially  show  they 
had  evidently  fallen  into  ? 

What  is  the  object  of  this  letter? 

How  do  we  know  Paul’s  epistles  were^ written  on  his  jour- 
neys ? 

Where  was  Paul  between  the  third  journey  and  his 
journey  as  prisoner  to  Rome  ? 1 

Might  not  some  of  these  epistles  have  been  written  from 
Caesarea  ? 

Why  may  we  not  think  some  of  them  were  written  from 
Jerusalem  ? 

Will  the  same  reason  apply  to  Caesarea  ? 

Are  the  inscriptions  at  the  end  of  the  epistles  a part  of 
the  epistles  ? 

Are  they  all  thought  to  be  correct  ? 

What  do  they  all  show  ? 

Can  we  certainly  decide  where  each  epistle  was  written  ? 

What  is  the  first  reason  why  we  suppose  the  first  epistle  to 
the  Thessalonians  was  written  at  Corinth  ? 

Which  one  of  these  passages  shows  most  clearly  that 
Paul  had  lately  been  in  Thessalonica  ? 

What  is  the  second  reason  ? 

What  is  the  third  reason  ? 

Do  these  facts  agree  with  the  account  in  the  Acts  ? 

At  what  place  does  the  inscription  at  the  end  of  this 
epistle  say  it  was  written  ? 

What  two  persons  were  with  Paul  when  he  wrote  it?2 

1 Acts  xxi.  S3  ; xxiii.  31,  33,  35  ; xxiv.  27. 

* In  I.  Thess.  i.  1,  Silvanus  is  the  same  name  as  Silas.  Silas  is  the 
short  or  contracted  form. 


(55) 


TWMNTY-EIGHTI1  S USE  AY. 


From  the  reasons  given,  does  Athens  or  Corinth  seem 
to  you  the  more  probable  place  ? 

How  is  the  dignity  and  authority  of  all  his  epistles  affected 
by  the  fact  that  they  were  written  on  Paul’s  journeys? 

What  is  this  First  Epistle  full  of? 

I.  What  is  the  first  subject  of  the  epistle  ? 

How  far  does  it  extend  ? 

Turn  to  the  first  chapters  of  the  epistle  and  show  how 
Paul  alludes  to  their  Christian  virtues  at  the 
first. 

Show  how  he  alludes  to  his  imprisonment  at  Philippi. 

Show  the  allusion  to  the  faithfulness  of  his  preaching 
and  to  his  kind  care  for  them. 

Show  the  allusion  to  his  daily  labor,  and  their  own 
faithfulness  in  persecution. 

II.  What  is  the  second  subject  of  the  epistle  ? 

Show  the  passage  in  the  epistle. 

What  affectionate  titles  does  he  call  them  by  ? 

III.  What  is  the  third  subject  of  the  epistle  ? 

At  what  place  was  he  when  he  sent  word  to  Timothy 
to  go  to  them  ? 

What  did  he  send  Timothy  for  ? 

IY.  What  is  the  fourth  subject  of  the  epistle  ? 

How  far  does  it  extend  ? 

Y.  What  is  the  fifth  part  of  the  epistle  ? 

How  far  does  it  extend  ? 

Point  out  the  passages  in  respect  to  brotherly- love,  quiet 
and  good  order. 

Show  the  passages  in  respect  to  believers  who  have  died 
and  4 the  second  coming.’ 

What  other  kind  directions  can  you  show  ? 

VI.  What  is  the  conclusion  of  the  epistle  ? 

Why  is  this  epistle  adapted  to  us  ? 

Did  all  the  Jews  of  Corinth  obey  Paul’s  preaching? 

Where  did  Paul  teach  afterwards  ? 

What  reason  is  there  for  supposing  that  he  still  lodged 
at  Aquila’s  house  ? 

(56) 


®foenf»-nittt[j  Siuioatv. 


A PERSECUTOR  PERSECUTED. 


LESSON. 

Acts  xviii.  8-17. 

• 

fipHE  opposition  of  the  Jews  at  Corinth  did  not  pre- 
vent  the  real  success  of  Paul’s  preaching.  A church 
was  soon  formed,  and  rapidly  increased.  Many  heard, 
believed,  and  were  baptized.  We  have  the  name  of 
the  first  convert  in  Achaia.  When  Paul  afterwards 
wrote  from  Corinth  his  letter  to  Rome,  he  mentioned 
Epenetus 1 as  the  4 first  fruits  of  Achaia.’  But  when, 
after  he  left  the  Corinthians,  he  wrote  a letter  back  to 
them,  he  said  4 the  household  of  Stephanas  ’ were  the 
4 first  fruits  of  Achaia.’ 2 Perhaps  Epenetus  was  a 
member  of  Stephanas’  household.  Another  convert’s 
name  was  Gaius,3  in  whose  house  Paul  staid  during 
his  next  visit  at  Corinth.4  Not  many  philosophers,  not 
many  wise  men,  not  many  mighty,  not  many  noble,5  but 
many  of  the  degraded  and  the  profligate 6 were  called 
into  the  kingdom  of  God.  Yet  one  man  of  eminence 
received  the  Gospel  as  a little  child  ; Crispus,3  the  ruler 
of  the  synagogue,  probably  a 44  man  of  learning  and  of 
high  character.”' 

1 Romans  xvi.  5.  a I.  Corinthians  xvi.  15. 

• 3 In  I.  Corinthians  i.  14,  Crispus  and  Gaius  are  mentioned  togeth- 
er. It  seems  likely  that  both  were  converted  at  the  same  time. 

4 Romans  xvi.  23.  6 1.  Cor.  i.  26.  6 1.  Cor.vi.  10,  11. 


188  {TWENTY-NINTH  SUNDAY.) 

Paul  was  not  to  be  driven  away  by  opposition.  God 
spoke  to  him  in  a vision,  directing  him  to  speak  boldly 
and  bis  success  would  be  great.  For  the  long  period 
of  a year  and  six  months,  he  continued  to  teach  and  to 
preach.  The  promise  of  God  was  abundantly  fulfilled. 
The  Corinthian  church  became  large  and  flourishing. 

Two  important  events,  we  suppose,  occurred  while 
Paul  labored  and  preached  in  Corinth,  during  the  year 
and  a half.  One  was  the  writing  of  a second  letter  to 
the  Thessalonian  Christians.  The  other  was  the  com- 
ing of  a new  Pro-Consul  to  the  capital  of  the  province. 

PauPhad  no  doubt  heard  again  from  Thessalonica. 
There  seems  to  have  been  much  excitement  among 
these  Christians  in  respect  to  the  second  coming  of  the 
Lord.  What  he  had  written  in  his  first  letter  about 
that  subject 7 had  been  either  misunderstood  or  pervert- 
ed. Their  wrong  notions  of  that  great  and  mysterious 
event — 4 the  day  and  the  hour,’  of  which  c no  man  nor 
angel  knows,  but  the  Father  only’ — was  creating  much 
trouble  and  needless  anxiety.  And  therefore,  to  com- 
fort and  to  correct  them  again,  Paul  writes 

THE  SECOND  EPISTLE  TO  THE  THESSALOXIANS.8 

A 

First , he  praises  their  4 growing  faith  ’ and  4 abound- 
ing charity,’ 9 their  patience  and  faith  in  persecution 
and  trouble,10  and  speaks  of  his  prayers  for  them.11 

Secondly , he  tells  them  not  to  be  4 shaken  in  mind 
nor  troubled  ’ about  the  second  coming  of  the  Lord  ; 13 
that  there  would  be  a 4 falling  away  from  the  faith  first;’ 
that  they  ought  to  be  steadfast  and  hold  firm  what 
they  had  been  taught  by  preaching  and  by  letter,13  and . 
prays  the  Saviour  and  God  to  comfort  their  hearts.14 

7 1.  Thessalonians  iv.  13  to  v.  11.  See,  too,  pages  181,  186. 

8 See  note  10,  page  183.  9 II.  Thess.  i.  3.  10  i.  4. 

11  L 11.  19  ii.  3-11.  13  ii.  15.  14  ii.  16,  17. 


A PERSECUTOR  PERSECUTED . 


189 


Thirdly , he  asks  their  prayers,15  and  commands  them 
to  be  ‘orderly’  and  ‘industrious,’16  to  ‘note’  and  ‘ad- 
monish ’ the  man  who  does  not  obey  his  letter.17 

Such  was  the  second  inspired  epistle  written  by 
divine  direction,  adapted  to  the  present  wants  of  the 
Thessalonians,  and  containing  the  doctrines  which  were 
to  govern  and  to  comfort  the  children  of  God  for  all 
time. 

We  need  not  suppose  that  Paul’s  preaching  in  the 
city  and  his  writing  to  the  Thessalonians  occupied  all 
his  time  during  his  long  residence  in  Corinth.  It  is 
said  he  ‘ continued  there  ’ a year  and  a half.  It  need 
not  be  meant  at  all  that  he  did  not  sometimes  go  out 
of  the  city  to  preach.  “ The  expression  may  only  de- 
note that  it  was  his  head-quarters  or  general  place  of 
residence.  Communication  was  easy  and  frequent  by 
land  and  water  with  other  parts  of  the  province.  Two 
short  days’  journey  to  the  south  were  the  Jews  of  Ar- 
gos. About  the  same  distance  to  the  east  was  the  city 
of  Athens,  which  had  been  imperfectly  evangelized. 
Within  a walk  of  a few  hours,  along  a road  busy  with 
traffic,  was  the  sea-port  of  Cenchrsea.”  We  know  there 
was  a church  established  at  Cenchraea,18  and  there  were 
at  other  places  many  ‘ churches  of  God,’ 19  among  which 
Paul  praised  ‘ the  patience  and  faith  ’ of  the  Thessalo- 
nian  disciples. 

While  Paul  was  thus  busy  in  his  work  from  month 
to  month,  a new  Pro-Consul  of  the  province  was  an- 
nounced. Ilis  arrival  from  Rome  w^as  an  event  of  great 
and  grave  importance.  An  exacting,  rigorous,  cruel 
man  might  make  the  people  of  the  province  wretched. 
A just,  candid,  and  well-disposed  man  might  make 
them  contented  and  happy.  We  know  little  of  Gallio, 

1 iii.  1,  2.  16  iii.  Y-13.  17  iii.  14,  15. 

18  Romans  xvi.  1.  19  II.  Thess.  i.  4. 


190 


{TWENTY-NINTH  SUNDAY.) 


except  that  he  was  the  brother  of  the  philosopher  Sen 
eca,  and  that  Seneca  speaks  of  him  with  much  affection, 
saying  that  he  was  “ not  only  an  honest  man,  but  also 
one  who  won  general  favor  from  his  amiable  temper 
and  popular  manners.”  This  coincides  with  the  descripr 
tion  given  in  the  Acts. 

The  Jews  took  advantage  of  the  change  of  govern- 
ment to  assault  Paul,  and  get  a decision  against  him 
from  their  new  officer.  “ It  is  quite  evident  that  the 
act  was  preconcerted  and  the  occasion  chosen.  The 
Jews,  making  use  of  the  privileges  they  enjoyed  as  a 
separate  community,  and  well  aware  that  their  worship 
was  protected  by  the  Roman  state,  accused  Paul  of 
violating  their  own  religious  law.  They  seem  to  have 
thought  that  if  this  violation  of  Jewish  law  could  be 
proved,  that  Paul  must  be  held  responsible  to  the  law 
of  the  empire ; or  perhaps  they  hoped  that  he  would 
be  given  up  to  them  for  punishment.”  They  hoped, 
perhaps,  too,  that  Gallio  would  be  glad  to  please  them, 
or  would  not  notice  the  difference  between  their  own 
law  and  the  Roman  law. 

We  must  see,  then,  Gallio  seated  as  judge  in  the 
pro-consular  court,  with  his  military  and  civil  officers 
around  him,  with  the  robes  and  emblems  of  Roman 
authority.  “ Before  this  heathen  ruler,  the  Jews  are 
making  their  accusation  with  eager  clamor.  Their  chief 
speaker  is  Sosthenes,  the  successor  of  Crispus,  or,  it 
may  be,  the  ruler  of  another  synagogue.  The  Greeks 
stand  around  to  hear  the  result,  and  to  learn  something 
of  the  new  Governor’s  character  : they  hated  the  Jews, 
and  were  ready  rather  to  take  Paul’s  side  than  that  of 
the  Jews.  The  Jews  of  Corinth  were  not  so  crafty  in 
the  statement  of  their  accusation  as  the  Jews  of  Thes- 
salonica  had  been  : the  exact  charge  was  that  Paul 
taught  men  to  worship  c contrary  to  law?  What  law  ? 


a Persecutor  persecuted.  i9i 

The  Jewish  law,  or  Roman  law  ? Perhaps  the  perse- 
cutors meant  to  leave  that  point  undecided,  hoping  Gal- 
lio  would  condemn  Paul  for  teaching  another  God  than 
the  Roman  gods.  Gallio  showed  by  his  reply  that  he 
knew  the  duties  of  his  office.  He  did  not  permit  Paul 
to  make  a defence.  If  the  case  had  been  one  of  wrong 
or  of  crime  against  Roman  law,  he  w^ould  have  given 
it  investigation,  but  as  it  was  only  one  of  Jewish  law 
and  superstition,  they  must  look  to  that  themselves. 
They  might  excommunicate  Paul  from  their  church,  if 
they  liked.  He  would  be  no  judge  of  such  questions. 

The  persecutors  were  completely  baffled.  But  this 
was  not  all.  ISTow  their  wicked  artifice  recoiled  on 
themselves.  The  Greeks  were  gratified  by  Gallio’s  de- 
cision. Excited  and  glad,  and  enraged  at  the  Jews, 
they  caught  the  chief 'persecutor  and  beat  him  right 
before  the  Pro-Consul.  With  easy  negligence,  Gallio 
left  the  persecutor  to  his  persecutors.  He  thought, 
perhaps,  that  a bitter  and  cruel  man,  like  Sosthenes, 
did  not  deserve  the  interference  of  a Judge,  even 
though  law  was  on  his  side,  when  others,  bitter  and 
cruel,  assaulted  him.  When  it  is  said,  therefore,  that 
4 Gallio  cared  for  none  of  these  things,’  it  is  not  meant 
that  he  was  indifferent  to  religious  things,  (although 
that  might  be  true,)  but  that  he  would  not  meddle 
with  what  did  hot  belong  to  his  office  and  duties.  It 
may  be  doubted,  however,  whether  he  ought  not  to 
have  prevented  the  public  beating  of  any  man,  even  a 
bitter  and  malignant  persecutor. 

The  result  was,  that  the  accusers  were  disgraced ; 
Gallio  was  popular  among  the  Greeks  ; and  Paul  wras 
respected  as  an  injured  man.  How  wonderfully  had 
the  words  of  the  vision  been  fulfilled  ! The  enemies 
who  had  4 set  on  ’ Paul,  had  hot  4 hurt  ’ him. 


Cljirtktlj  Swiirag* 


THE  SECOND  RETURN  HOME. 


LESSOR. 

Acts  xviii.  18-22. 

AT  length  the  time  came  when  Paul  thought  best  to 
leave  Corinth,  and  to  return  to  Judea.  It  had  been 
a long  time  since  he  and  Silas  left  Antioch  in  ’Syria. 
The  journey  had  been  long  and  wearisome,  but  it  had 
been  even  more  successful  than  Paul’s  first  journey  with 
Barnabas.  In  Corinth,  Paul  had  at  last  found  a place 
in  which  he  could  preach  and  rest  without  fear  of  suc- 
cessful persecution.  If  the  Greeks  of  Corinth  did  not 
all  welcome  his  preaching,  neither  would  they  permit 
the  malignant  Jews  to  persecute  publicly  a man  who 
they  well  knew  had  committed  no  offence  against  the 
laws  of  the  province.  TIis  work  there,  as  the  founder 
of  churches,  had  now  been  accomplished.  He  wished 
to  be  at  the  coming  national  festival  at  Jerusalem.1  It 
may  be  that  Aquila  and  Priscilla  were  about  to  remove 
to  Ephesus  ; and  if  so,  the  removal  may  have  had  some- 
thing to  do  with  Paul’s  return.  His  home  in  Corinth 
would  be  broken  up,  and  he  could  go  with  them  part 
of  the  way. 

After  giving  farewell  to  the  Corinthian  church,  the 
three  went  dowm  to  Cenchroea.  “ Descending  from  the 
table-land  on  which  Corinth  was  situated,  the  road 

1 1 This  feast  that  cometh/  in  the  21st  verse,  means  probably  the 
Feast  of  Pentecost. 


THE  SECOND  RETURN  HOME. 


193 


stretched  eight  or  nine  miles  across  the  Isthmus,”  to 
this  harbor.  Here,  at  different  times,  might  be  seen 
ships  from  Egypt  and  from  Syria,  from  ‘Asiq,  ’ and  from 
Macedonia,  and  smaller  craft  from  Crete  and  the  islands 
of  the  iEgean  Sea.  All  the  sea-commerce  of  Corinth 
from  the  east  came  through  this  harbor.  It  was  there- 
fore a town  of  considerable  size.  Whether  Phoebe  was 
a convert,  and  the  church  was  already  formed  at  this 
place,2  we  are  not  yet  told.  If  Paul  had  not  preached 
here  before,  he  may  have  remained  here  a day  or  more 
now.  But  here,  where  he  landed  from  Antioch,  the 
three  step  on  board  the  ship  which  was  to  carry  them 
to  Ephesus. 

Before  the  vessel  sailed,  however,  or  more  likely  be- 
fore they  embarked,  a religious  ceremony  was  performed 
which  we  must  stop  to  notice.  Either  Paul  or  Aquila 
had  previously  taken  a vow.  The  time  of  this  vow  had 
expired.  “ Such  vows  the  Jews,  even  when  in.  foreign 
countries,  often  took  on  themselves,  in  consequence  of 
some  mercy  received  or  some  deliverance  from  danger, 
or  some  other  occurrence  which  had  produced  a deep, 
solemn  impression  on  the  mind.”  The  obligations  such 
persons  took  were  : to  abstain  from  wine  and  all  strong 
drinks,  not  to  enter  any  house  in  which  was  a dead 
body,  not  to  attend  any  funeral  nor  to  allow  themselves 
to  be  made  unclean  according  to  the  Mosaic  law,  and 
not  to  cut  the  hair  till  the  end  of  a fixed  length  of 
time. 

There  is  a difference  of  opinion  about  the  person  who 
took  this  vow.  The  words  of  the  Scripture  may  mean 
either  Paul  or  Aquila.  Some  persons  think  that  Paul 
could  not  have  nlftde  such  a vow,  because  it  would  have 
been  in  violation  of  his  own  principles — the  principles 


2 Romans  xvi.  1. 


194 


(l THIRTIETH  SUNDAY.) 


he  had  so  earnestly  advocated  in  respect  to  the  law  of 
Moses,  and  which  were  confirmed  at  the  great  council 
of  Jerusalem.  They  say,  too,  that  elsewhere  in  the 
Scriptures  the  marts  name  is  mentioned  first  in  c Aquila 
and  Priscilla,5  3 and  that  in  this  place  the  man’s  name 
is  mentioned  last , Aquila’s  name  being  put  next  to  the 
phrase  about  the  vow.  Other  persons  think  that  it  was 
not  contrary  to  the  decision  of  the  council  for  Paul  to 
take  a vow : that,  by  that  decision,  he  was  freed  from 
obligation  to  the  laAV  and  customs  of  Moses,  but  that  he 
might , if  he  chose , practise  those  customs,  just  as  we 
Gentiles  now  may  observe  Moses’  law  about  clean  and 
unclean  meats,  if  we  choose . And  they  say,  too,  that 
Paul  wished  to  show  that  he  had  respect  for  Moses’  cus- 
toms and  laws. 

If  it  was  Paul  a who  had  been  for  some  time  conspic- 
uous, even  among  the  Jews  and  Christians  at  Corinth, 
for  the  long  hair  which  showed  that  he  was  under  a 
peculiar  religious  vow,”  and  who  now  had  his  hair  shorn 
in  Cenchrsea,  at  the  end  of  a fixed  time,  we  can  see  an 
additional  reason  why  he  hastened  on  past  Ephesus.4 
He  wished,  it  may  be,  to  reach  Jerusalem  before  the 
days  for  the  offering  of  the  sacrifice  required  after  the 
head  was  shorn,  had  ended.  It  certainly  seems  most 
natural  to  suppose  that  it  was  Paul  who  cut  off  his  hair, 
to  show  that  he  was  no  longer  under  a vow. 

“ The  voyage  from  Corinth  to  Ephesus  was  among 
the  islands  of  the  Greek  Archipelago  and  over  waters 
which  from  the  earliest  times  have  been  the  scenes  of 
stirring  life.  Legends,  traditions,  poetry,  history,  had 
their  home  among  these  beautiful  islands  of  the  HCgean 
Sea.  “ Ho  voyage  across  the  ASgefin  was  more  fre- 

8 See  xviii.  2 and  26  ; I.  Corinthians  xvi.  19.  But  see,  too,  II. 
Timothy  iv.  19,  and  Romans  xvi.  3. 

4 Verses  20  and  21. 


TEE  SECOND  RETURN  HOME. 


195 


quently  made  than  that  between  Corinth  and  Ephesus. 
These  two  places  were  the  capitals  of  the  two  peaceful 
and  flourishing  provinces  of  Achaia  and  Asia  : the  two 
great  business  towns  on  the  opposite  sides  of  the  sea. 
We  may  say  that  the  relation  of  these  cities  of  the 
eastern  and  western  Greeks  to  each  other,  was  like  that 
between  New-York  and  Liverpool.  Even  the  time  of 
the  voyage  between  the  opposite  sides  of  the  sea,  (from 
ten  to  fifteen  days,)  was  alike.  Cicero  says  that  his 
passage  from  Corinth  to  Ephesus,  which  was  a long 


The  spear  of  Minerva’s  image  on  the  Acropolis  of 
Athens  was  again  visible  to  Paul,  if  he  sailed  down  the 
Saronic  Gulf  in  a clear  day.  Off  the  cape  of  Sunium, 
the  ship  would  leave  the  track  on  which  he  came  from 
Berea.  As  he  wound  his  way  among  the  thousand 
islands,  he  would  think  of  the  voyage  ‘ in  a straight 
course,’  far,  far  to  the  north,  from  Troas  to  Neapolis, 
two  or  three  years  before.  Passing,  morning,  noon 


106 


(: THIRTIETH  SUNDAY.) 


and  night,  some  beautiful  island  or  some  cluster  of 
islets,  at  length  the  long  Icarus  and  the  long  Samos 
(reminding  him  of  the  Thracian  Samos 5)  passed  slowly 
by ; and  if  the  wind  was  fair,  the  coast  off  the  city  of 
Ephesus  is  soon  before  them.  “ It  seems  that  the  ves- 
sel was  bound  for  Syria,  and  staid  only  a short  time  in 
harbor  at  Ephesus.  But  even  during  the  short  interval 
of  his  stay,  Paul  made  a visit  to  his  Jewish  fellbw-coun- 
trymen,  and  (the  Sabbath  being  probably  one  of  the 
days  during  which  he  remained)  lie  held  a discussion 
with  them  in  the  synagogue  about  the  Messiah.  Their 
curiosity  was  excited  by  what  they  heard  ; and  perhaps 
if  he  had  staid  longer,  the  curiosity  would  soon  have 
been  followed  by  persecution,  as  at  Antioch  in  Pisidia. 
But  he  could  not  grant  their  request.”  He  was  anxious 
to  reach  Jerusalem  in  time  for  the  national  festival ; 
and,  if  he  should  not  go  on  in  the  ship,  he  might  have 
no  other  opportunity.  He  saw,  however,  enough  to 
encourage  him  to  promise  the  Ephesian  Jews  that  he 
would  return,  if  it  should  be  God’s  will.  We  shall  see 
how  exactly  Paul  kept  his  promise. 

From  Ephesus,  the  ship  sailed  past  Cos  and  Rhodes, 
two  islands  afterwards  mentioned  in  Paul’s  voyages 6. 
Then  Paul  was  almost  in  familiar  waters.  Possibly  the 
cliffs  of  Lycia  could  be  seen.  The  previous  sail  of  Paul 
and  Barnabas  from  Paphos  to  Perga  was  in  the  neigh- 
boring seas.  Far  away  to  the  left  lay  the  shores  of 
Pamphylia.  Rough  Cilicia  lay  hid  behind  the  watery 
horizon  in  the  north-east.  A little  further  on  their 
course,  and  Cyprus  rose  into  sight,  and  for  a day  or 
more  lay  in  the  sea,  a high,  black  line  of  land  off  on  the 
left.  Then  came  another  long  sail,  and  finally  the  dis- 
tant outline  of  Palestine  appears,  and  then  the  familiar 


6 See  page  181. 


c Acts  xxi.  1. 


/ 


THE  SECOND  RETURN  HOME.  197 

coast  about  Csesarea.  Here  Paul,  after  a long,  tiresome 
ride  on  the  water,  stepped  ashore : in  this  Roman  cap- 
ital of  the  Roman  province  of  Judea,  although  he  was 
on  his  way  to  the  ancient  Hebrew  capital  of  the  Land 
of  Promise. 

44  The  journey  from  Caesarea  to  Jerusalem  is  related 
in  a single  word.”  7 Nothing  is  said  of  what  occurred 
at  Jerusalem  : nothing  of  meetings  with  other  Apostles, 
of  controversies  about  disputed  points  of  doctrine : 
nothing  of  Paul’s  recitals  of  4 all  that  God  had  done 
with  them,’ 8 nor  even  of  the  festival,  if  indeed  Paul  ar- 
rived in  time.  He  simply  made  a short  visit  of  sympa- 
thy and  of  courtesy  to  the  church,  and  then  he  went 
down  to  Antioch.  It  is  likely  the  journey  to  Antioch 
was  made  by  land ; and  if  it  was,  he  passed  over  the 
same  coast  road  which  we  have  supposed  he  travelled 
when  he  went  up  from  Antioch  to  the  council  of  Jeru- 
salem with  the  4 difficult  question.’ 

With  Paul,  Antioch,  more  than  Jerusalem,  was  the 
point  of  starting  and  of  return.  This  visit  to  Antioch 
was  probably  his  last ; and  he  was  to  make  but  one 
more  visit  to  Jerusalem,  and  that  one  of  persecution, 
of  suffering  and  of  final  separation. 

7 The  two  words,  ‘ gone  up,’  are  one  word  in  the  Greek.  Some 
persons  think  that  Paul  did  not  go  to  Jerusalem  at  all,  but  he  cer- 
tainly intended  to,  when  he  was  at  Ephesus,  (verse  21 ;)  and  why 
did  he  come  to  Caesarea,  if  not  to  go  to  Jerusalem  ? 

8 Acts  xiv.  27.  The  reason  why  nothing  is  said  about  Paul’^  visit 
0 at  Jerusalem,  doubtless  is,  that  nothing  occurred  in  respect  to  his 

great  work  among  the  Gentiles. 


( THIRTIETH  SUNDAY.) 


QUESTIONS. 

TTOW  does  this  second  journey  compare  with  the  first? 

What  kind  of  a place  had  Paul  found  Corinth  ? 

Why  did  he  now  wish  to  return  ? 

What  w~as  the  1 feast  that  cometh  ’ ? 

What  else  may  have  led  Paul  to  return  ? 

To  what  town  did  the  three  go  first  ? 

What  person  mentioned  afterwards  by  Paul  lived  in  this 
place  ? 

Is  it  probable  that  Paul  preached  here  at  any  time  ? 
What  took  place  before  they  sailed  ? 

When  were  such  vows  taken  ? 

What  obligations  were  taken  ? 

Who  may  1 having  shorn  his  head  ’ refer  to  ? 

Was  that  vow  in  violation  of  Paul’s  principles  ? 

What  reason  for  supposing  that  it  was  Aquila  who  took 
the  vow  ? 

Which  one  do  you  think  took  the  vow  ? 

If  it  was  Paul,  what  additional  reason  for  hastening  to 
Jerusalem  ? 

Through  what  waters  did  the  voyage  lie  ? 

What  made  journeys  frequent  between  Corinth  and 
Ephesus  ? 

The  connection  between  the  two  cities  was  like  what  in 
our  own  day  ? 

Where  would  Paul  leave  tne  course  of  his  journey  to 
Greece  ? 

What  4 straight  course  ’ would  he  think  of  ? 

*What  two  islands,  among  others,  did  he  pass  ? 

What  did  one  of  them  remind  him  of  ? 

Where  was  the  vessel  bound  for  ? 

What  did  Paul  in  Ephesus  ? 

What  did  the  Jews  wish  ? 

Why  did  not  Paul  consent  ? 

What  was  this  visit  the  first  beginnings  of? 

What  did  Paul  promise  ? 


(: THIRTIETH  SUNDAY, ;) 


Did  Paul  observe  the  Jewish  feasts  ? 

Was  not  this  keeping  Moses’  law? 

Did  he  it  from  obligation  or  from  choice  ? 

Who  remained  at  Ephesus  ? 

Why  could  they  not  teach  the  Ephesians  as  well  as  Paul  ? 
What  two  islands  did  Paul  sail  past  ? Where  are  they  men- 
tioned ? 

The  track  of  wdiat  previous  voyage  were  they  near  ? 

cliffs  ? shores  ? horizon  ? 

What  island  on  the  left  ? 

What  distinction  between  Caesarea  and  J erusalem  ? 

What  does  ‘gone  up  ’ mean  ? What  ‘ church  ’ ? 

Did  Paul  go  to  Jerusalem  ? 

Why  have  we  no  account  of  Paul’s  visit  in  Jerusalem  ? 
What  is  meant  by  ‘ saluted  the  church’  ? 

How  was  the  journey  made  to  Antioch  ? 

When  had  he  been  over  the  road  before  ? 

What  was  Antioch  in  relation  to  Paul’s  missionary 
journeys  ? 

What  visits  were  there  to  the  two  cities  ? 

(60) 


Cfjrrijr-first  SimfraiT. 


THE  THIRD  JOURNEY.— APOLLOS  OF  ALEXANDRIA. 


LESSOXT. 

Acts  xviii.  23-28. 

T)AUL  must  have  been  gone  from  Antioch,  on  his 
-*•  second  journey,  two  years  or  more.  To  make  the 
journey  through  Syria  and  Cilicia,1  Derbe  and  Lystra, 
and  other  c cities,52  remaining  long  enough  in  each  to  as- 
certain the  condition  of  the  4 churches,53  to  go  4 through- 
out Phrygia  and  the  region  of  Galatia,54  travelling  all 
the  way  on  foot  to  Troas,  must  have  taken  from  one  to 
two  months  : from  Troas  to  Philippi,  Thessalonica,5  and 
Berea,  six  or  eight  weeks  : from  Berea  to  Athens  and 
Corinth,  three  or  four  weeks.  He  was  at  Corinth  pro- 
bably more  than  4 a year  and  a half  ;56  and  he  must  have 
been  nearly  two  months  from  Corinth  to  Caesarea  by 
the  way  of  Ephesus,  and  from  Caesarea  to  Antioch  by 
way  of  Jerusalem.  It  seems  likely  that  he  was  in  some 
of  these  places  much  longer  than  we  have  supposed 
in  this  reckoning ; and  therefore  that  the  time  of  ab- 
sence from  Antioch  had  been  from  two  to  two  and  a 
half  years. 

He  was  now  among  the  4 Christians 5 of  Antioch  4 a 
good  while.5  He  related  to  them  the  story  of  his  long 
and  successful  journey.  He  had  found  the  churches 
in  Lycaonia  steadfast : he  had  explored  Phrygia  and 


1 xv.  41. 

2 xvi.  4. 

3 xvi  5. 


4 xvi.  6. 

6 xvi.  12,  13  ; xvii.  1,  2,  10. 
6 xviii.  1 1 . 


THE  THIRD  JOURNEY. 


199 


Galatia  and  preached  the  Gospel  there.  Flourishing 
churches  had  been  planted  in  the  far-distant  lands  of  Ma- 
cedonia and  Achaia.  No  ‘difficult  question5  was  now 
raised,  by  envious  or  narrow-minded  Pharisees,  when 
Paul  told  how  he  had  lived  with  the  Gentiles  all  along 
his  journey.  Neither  famine  nor  controversy  sent  him 
now  on  an  errand  to  Jerusalem.  With  other  c pro- 
phets and  teachers,5  he  continued  to  instruct  publicly 
and  privately  the  believers  of  the  city,  until  his  desire 
to  know  the  condition  of  the  Phrygian  and  Galatian 
converts,  and  his  promise  to  the  Jews  of  Ephesus,  led 
him  to  plan  his  third  missionary  journey. 

Barnabas  and  Mark  are  no  longer  spoken  of.  Even 
Silas  is  not  mentioned.  It  is  probable  that  Silas  re- 
mained at  Jerusalem,  where  he  had  already  been  6 a 
chief  man 57  in  the  church.  We  shall  find  afterwards 
that  Timothy  was  one  of  his  companions.  Perhaps  he 
was  from  the  time  of  leaving  Antioch. 

It  is  evident  that  this  was  a systematic  visit  of  churches 
and  places.  He  went  over  c all  the  country  of  Galatia 
and  Phrygia  in  order?  He  must  have  visited  some  of 
the  Syrian  and  Cilician  churches,  if  he  travelled  in  the 
track  of  his  former  journey  to  Tarsus  and  through  the 
Cilician  Gates.  In  Galatia  and  Phrygia  Paul  may  have 
visited  other  places  than  those  he  visited  before.  He 
seems  to  have  gone  through  the  principal  towns  of 
these  two  provinces  without  persecution  or  interruption, 
making  more  thorough  the  incomplete  visit  of  two  years 
before.  Two  things  Paul  designed  to  accomplish  : first 
to  encourage  and  strengthen  the  converts  in  their  trials 
and  against  error,  and  secondly  to  make  collections  for 
the  poor  Christians  in  Judea.  When  James,  Peter  and 
John,  at  the  council  of  Jerusalem,  declared  that  Paul 


7 xv.  22. 


200 


(: THIRTY-FIRST  SUNDAY.) 


was  the  Apostle  to  the  Heathen  or  Gentiles,  they  di- 
rected him  to  remember  the  poor.8  It  is  to  these  very 
Galatians  that  Paul  writes  when  he  mentions  this  direc- 
tion of  the  three  Apostles,  and  when  he  says  : 4 I was 
forward  to  do  the  same.58  We  know,  too,  what  the 
order  was  which  he  gave  to  the  churches  of  Galatia. 
It  was  the  same  which  he  afterwards  gave  to  the  church 
of  Corinth  :9  4 that  each  one,  on  the  first  day  of  the 
week,  should  save  a certain  portion  of  his  earnings  as 
God  had  prospered  him,  and  have  it  ready  to  send, 
when  an  opportunity  offered,  to  Jerusalem.9 

With  this  twofold  object  in  view,  we  think  of  the 
beginning  of  this  third  journey.  Nothing  is  said  of 
Paul’s  exact  route,  till  he  arrived  at  Ephesus.10  He  no 
doubt  passed  over  again  the  sunny  Cilician  plain ; 
looked  up  again  at  the  frowning  cliffs  at  the  Great 
Mountain  Gate  ; and  again  trod  the  high  table-land  of 
Lycaonia. 

After  Derbe,  Lystra,  Iconium,  and  Antioch  in  Pisidia, 
we  cannot  fix  on  any  cities  which  he  visited.  We  only 
know  that  in  the  Scripture  account  Galatia  is  mentioned 
first,  while  in  the  account  of  the  former  journey  Phry- 
gia is  first  mentioned.11  44  We  are  at  liberty  to  suppose, 
therefore,  that  he  travelled  first  from  Lycaonia  through 
Cappadocia  into  Galatia,  and  then  by  Phrygia  to  the 
coast  of  the  HEgean.  The  great  road  from  Iconium 
to  Ephesus  passed  along  the  valley  of  the  river  Mean- 
der and  near  the  cities  of  Laodicea  and  Colosse ; and 
we  naturally  suppose  that  the  Apostle  approached  the 
capital  of  4Asia 5 along  this  well-travelled  line.”  While 
the  Apostle  is  making  this  long  journey  from  Phrygia 

8 Galatians  ii.  9,  10. 

0 I.  Corinthians  xvi.  1,  2. 

10  See  frontispiece  map  for  the  supposed  route. 

11  Compare  xviii.  23  with  xvi.  6. 


THE  THIRD  JOURNEY. 


201 


to  Ephesus,  the  route  of  which  and  the  incident's  of 
which  we  know  nothing  about,  our  attention  is  directed 
to  another  great  and  good  man,  who  arrived  at  the  cap- 
ital of  Asia  before  him. 

Aquila  and  Priscilla  had  remained  at  Ephesus  some 
time  after  Paul  sailed  for  Caesarea,  when  there  came  a 
man  who  was  destined  to  do  the  church  great  service. 
This  man  was  a Jew  and  an  orator.  He  was  skilled  in 
the  Scriptures,  having  been  taught  no  doubt,  as  Paul 
himself  had  been,  by  earnest  and  faithful  parents.  Be- 
sides being  thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  Jewish 
Scriptures,  he  possessed,  doubtless,  like  Paul,  the  know- 
ledge of  the  best  schools  of  his  age.  He  was  born  in 
Alexandria  in  Egypt,  “ the  emporium  of  Greek  com- 
merce, where  literature,  philosophy,  and  criticism  ex- 
cited the  utmost  intellectual  activity,”  and  where  were 
famous  schools  for  the  training  of  orators.  In  this  city, 
which  had  been  “ the  most  wealthy  and  splendid  city 
of  the  known  world,”  and  which  in  Paul’s  time  “ exer- 
cised, next  after  Athens,  the  strongest  intellectual  influ- 
ence over  the  age,”  Apollos  was  trained  up.  In  this  city, 
where  Jewish  learning  mingled  with  Gentile  cultiva- 
tion, and  which  is  now  as  famous  for  its  translation  of 
the  Hebrew  Scriptures  into  Greek  and  for  its  Jewish 
theology  as  for  its  Museum  and  Library,13  he  had  had 
better  opportunities  to  become  an  orator  than  even 
Paul  at  Tarsus ; for  the  Jews  abounded  in  Alexandria 
and  possessed  learned  schools  of  their  own.  “ With 
the  eloquence  of  a Greek  orator,  the  subject  of  his 
study  and  teaching  was  the  Scriptures  of  his  forefathers. 
His  reputation  in  the  synagogue  was  that  of  a man 
1 mighty  in  the  Scriptures.’  ” Whether  he  came  to 

12  The  Museum  was  “ an  establishment  in  which  men  devoted  to 
literary  pursuits  were  maintained  at  the  public  cost.”  The  Library 
contained  at  one  time  400,000  volumes. 


202 


(: THIRTY-FIRST  SUNDAY.) 

Ephesus  directly  from  Alexandria  or  from  other  cities 
whither  his  earnest  spirit  led  him  to  advocate  his  reli- 
gion, is  an  undecided  question. 

But  Apollos  was  yet  only  a disciple  of  John  the  Bap- 
tist. Apollos  may  himself  have  listened  to  the  bold 
teaching  of  that  honest  reformer,  ‘ clothed  with  camels’ 
hair  and  a leathern  girdle.’  The  sturdy  doctrines  of 
the  great  forerunner  had  seized  fast  hold  of  his  earnest 
mind.  Filled  with  zeal  to  spread  John’s  doctrines  of 
repentance,  reformation,  and  the  new  coming  of  the 
Messiah,  he  taught  that  c iccty  of  the  Lord 513  which  his 
accepted  Master  taught.  “We  may  conceive  of  him 
as  travelling,  like  a second  John  the  Baptist,  outside  ot 
Judea,  expounding  the  prophecies  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, announcing  that  the  time  of  the  Messiah  had 
come,  and  calling  unholy  Jews  to  repentance  in  the  very 
spirit  of  Elias.” 

“ Thus  burning  with  zeal  and  confident  of  the  truth 
of  what  he  had  learned,  he  spoke  out  boldly  in  the  syn- 
agogue of  Ephesus,  where  an  intense  interest  must  have 
been  excited  about  this  time  concerning  the  Messiah. 
Paul  had  recently  been  there  and  departed  with  the 
promise  of  return.  Aquila  and  Priscilla,  though  taking 
no  forward  part  as  public  teachers,  would  keep  what 
Paul  had  said  before  the  minds  of  the  Israelites.  And 
now  an  Alexandrian  Jew  had  introduced  himself  in  the 
synagogue,  bearing  testimony  to  the  same  Messiah  with 
singular  eloquence  and  with  great  power  in  the  in- 
terpretation of  Scripture.  Thus  an  unconscious  pre- 
paration was  made  for  the  arrival  of  Paul,  who  was  al- 
ready approaching  Ephesus  through  the  up-lands  of 
Asia  Minor.” 

“ The  teaching  of  Apollos,  though  eloquent,  learned, 
13  Mattliew  iii  1-3  ; Luke  iii.  4 ; John  i 23  • Isaiah  x\.  3 


THE  THIRD  JOURNEY. 


203 


find  zealous,  had  a very  grave  defect  in  it.  But  God 
had  provided  among  his  listeners”  those  who  could 
teach  even  this  learned  and  earnest  orator  his  deficiency. 
Two  humble  tent-makers  knew  the  Messiah  had  come. 
The  prophecies  which  Apollos  expounded  so  convinc- 
ingly in  favor  of  the  near  approach  of  the  Messiah, 
Aquila  and  Priscilla  showed  to  mean  Jesus  of  Nazareth. 
The  faithful  arguments  of  Aquila  and  Priscilla  con- 
vinced the  great-hearted  and  humble-minded  Apollos 
that  Jesus  was  the  One  who  was  to  follow  Johq  the 
forerunner. 

Apollos  soon  embarked  for  Corinth.  News  from 
Corinth  may  have  led  him  to  think  he  could  assist  the 
church  there.  The  Ephesian  Christians  gave  him  letters 
of  introduction  and  commendation  to  their  Corinthian 
brethren.  To  the  Corinthian  Christians  he  proved  a 
most  valuable  help  ; for  even  the  Jews,  it  would  seem, 
who  had  rejected  Paul,  were  c mightily  convinced’  by 
the  eloquent  arguments  of  Apollos  that  the  Jesus  cruci- 
fied at  Jerusalem  was  the  Messiah.  “And  yet  evil 
grew  up  side  by  side  with  good.  For  while  Apollos 
was  honestly  cooperating  with  Paul,  he  was  unwillingly 
held  up  as  a rival  of  the  Apostle  himself.  In  this  city 
of  ciitics  and  orators,  the  learning  and -eloquent  speak- 
ing of  Apollos  were  contrasted  with  the  unlearned  sim- 
plicity with  which  Paul  had  purposely  preached  the 
Gospel  to  his  Corinthian  audience.”  Some  held  to  the 
new  teacher,  and  some  to  the  old.  And  this  was  no 
doubt  the  origin  of  those  divisions  of  Paul  and  of  Apollos 
which  afterwards  gave  so  much  anxiety  to  the  Apostle.14 
“We  cannot  imagine  that  Apollos  himself  wished  or 
tolerated  such  unchristian  divisions.” 


14  I.  Corinthians  i.  12. 


(: THIRTY-FIRST  SUNDAY.) 


QUESTIONS. 

[OW  long  had  Paul  been  gone  on  the  second  journey  ? 

Can  you  distribute  the  time  ? 

How  long  did  he  remain  in  Antioch  ? 

What  did  he  there  ? 

What  two  things  led  him  to  plan  a third  journey v? 
Where  were  Barnabas  and  Mark  ? 

Where  was  Silas  ? 

N ho  was  his  companion  ? 

What  kind  of  a visit  was  this  ? 

What  two  things  did  Paul  design  to  accomplish  ? 

What  especial  direction  of  the  Apostles  did  he  wish  to 
carry  out  ? What  Apostles  ? 

To  whom  does  he  mention  this  direction  ? 

What  order  did  Paul  give  in  respect  to  this  ? to  whom  ? 
What  is  the  first  city  named  on  this  journey  ? 

Hid  Paul  go  through  Syria  and  Cilicia  to  reach  Galatia  ? 
What  cities  can  you  say  he  visited  ? 

How  are  Galatia  and  Phrygia  named  differently  in  the 
previous  journey  ? 

What  may  you  suppose,  then,  in  respect  to  the  route  ? 
Whom  had  Paul  left  at  Ephesus  ? 

Who  came  to  Ephesus  during  Paul’s  absence  ? 

What  was  he  ? From  what  place  ? 

How  did  this  city  compare  with  Athens  and  Tarsus  ? 
What  had  it  to  do  with  orators  ? 

What  four  things  was  it  famous  for  ? 

What  was  the  subject  of  this  orator’s  eloquence  ? 
Whose  disciple  was  Apollos  ?' 

How  did  he  become  his  disciple  ? 

What  is  meant  by  1 way  of  the  Lord  ’ ? 

What  had  John  the  Baptist  preached  ? 

What  is  meant  by  1 present  in  the  Spirit  ’ ? 

Hid  Apollos  teach  the  immediate  coming  of  the  Mes- 
siah ? 

What  else  did  he  teach  ? 

(61) 


( THIRTY-FIRST  SUNDAY.) 


What  does  ‘knowing  only  the  baptism  of  John’  mean? 
Where  did  Apollos  speak  ? 

What  combined  to  increase  the  interest  concerning  the 
Messiah  ? 

What  effect  wmuld  ihis  have  on  Paul’s  coming  ? 

Who  instructed  Apollos  ? 

What  was  the  one  particular  point  in  their  instructions  ? 
Should  believers  in  humble  station  despair  of  convincing 
the  most  learned  or  eloquent  ? 

What  previous  preparation  had  Aquila  and  Priscilla  for 
approaching  Apollos  ? 

Is  it  right  at  all  times  to  inform  a man  in  error  that  he 
is  wrong  ? 

How  should  it  be  done  ? 

Where  did  Apollos  go  ? Why  ? 

What  did  the  Ephesian  Christians  for  him  ? 

Yfhom  did  Apollos  help  in  Achaia  ? 

What  does  ‘ believed  through  grace  ’ mean  ? *■ 

Why  did  Apollos  accomplish  what  Paul  did  not  ? 

How  did  the  subject  of  Apollos’  preaching  at  Corinth 
compare  with  Paul’s  at  Antioch  in  Pisidia? 

Sow  did  he  show  that  Jesus  was  the  Messiah  ? 

What  evil  mingled  with  the  good  ? 

What  led  to  this  ? 

How  do  you  know  there  were  these  divisions  ? 

Is  it  not  right  to  prefer  one  preacher  to  another  ? 

Why  were  these  divisions  wrong  ? 

(62) 


iSunbim. 


MIRACLES  AND  MAGIC-WORKERS. 


LESSON. 

Acts  xix.  1 - 20. 

u Tj^PHESUS  was  the  greatest  city  of  Asia  Minor  as 
AJ  well  as  the  metropolis  of  the  province  of  Asia ; and 
as  it  was  constantly  visited  by  ships  from  all  parts  of  the 
Mediterranean,  and  united  by  great  roads  with  the  mar- 
kets of  the  interior,  it  was  the  common  meeting-place 
of  various  characters  and  classes  of  men.”  Among 
these  various  classes  who  had  gathered  in  this  stirring 
city  were  a few  disciples  of  John  the  Baptist.  There 
were  ‘ about  twelve  men’  who  had  learned  John’s  doc- 
trines in  different  places  or  had  been  converts  to  Apob 
los’  preaching  in  Ephesus.  If  they  had  heard  of  Jesus 
as  the  Messiah,  they  did  not  fully  understand  the  doc- 
trine. Apollos  must  have  been  gone  some  time  before 
Paul  arrived ; and  it  may  be  these  disciples  came  to 
Ephesus  after  Apollos  had  departed.  If  they  had  re- 
ceived instruction  from  Aquila  and  Priscilla,  that  in- 
struction was  not  sufficient.  “ They  had  only  received 
John’s  baptism,  and  were  ignorant  of  the  great  out- 
pouring of  the  Holy  Ghost.” 

Paul  had  now  come  down  from  the  upper  country1  and 
on  one  of  the  great  roads  from  the  east  entered  Ephesus. 
He  found  out  the  Jews  to  whom  he  had  given  his  pro- 

1 1 Upper  coasts.’  Coasts  does  not  mean,  of  eourse,  coasts  of  the 
sea,  but  the  upper  parts  or  provinces. 


MIRACLES  AND  MAGIC -WORKERS. 


205 


mise  of  return  f and  he  now  met  this  small  company 
of  John’s  disciples.  Paul’s  simple,  earnest  question 
seemed  to  perplex  them.  Though  they  sincerely  wished 
to  do  right,  they  were  ignorant  of  the  Holy  Spirit’s  es- 
pecial appearance  at  the  day  of  Pentecost  and  since 
that  time?  Though  baptized  by  John,  they  had  not 
been  baptized  with  that  outpoured  Spirit  which  the 
Saviour  promised.  They  were  therefore  reminded  that 
John  himself  told  the  people  to  believe  on  him  who 
should  come  after  him,  that  is,  on  Jesus  of  Nazai^eth, 
the  Messiah.  Convinced  of  the  Messiahship  of  Jesus, 
they  received  the  baptism  which  he  commanded  his  dis- 
ciples to  administer ; and  then,  on  them,  as  on  the  gath- 
ered multitude  at  Pentecost,  the  gift  of  tongues  and  the 
gift  of  prophecy  descended. 

Paul  now  took  up  his  residence  in  the  city.  Aquila 
and  Priscilla  were  still  there  without  doubt,  as  they  are 
mentioned  both  before  and  after  this  time.2 3  It  is  very 
likely  that  Paul  again  worked  at  his  trade  with  these 
tent-makers  ; for  he  afterwards  told  the  Ephesian  Christ- 
ians that  4 his  own  hands  had  ministered  to  his  neces- 
sities and  to  those  who  were  with  him.’4  Sabbath  by 
Sabbath  he  went  to  the  synagogue  to  reason  with  the 
Jews. , He  was  present  at  many  other  meetings,  or 
whenever  opportunity  offered,  to  argue  with  his  coun- 
trymen, with  proselytes  or  with  Gentiles.  For  three 
months  he  was  permitted  to  preach  the  Messiahship  of 
Jesus  of  Nazareth.  Those  who  had  invited  him  to  re- 
turn to  Ephesus  did  not  persecute  him  ; and  although 
some  of  them  would  not  be  convinced,  and  even  4 spake 
evil’  of  the  spiritual  truth  Paul  preached,  opposing  him 

2 xviii.  21. 

3 xviii.  26  ; I.  Corinthians  xvi.  19.  This  Epistle,  as  will  soon  be 
seen,  was  written  soon  after  this  time  from  Ephesus. 

4 xx.  34. 


206 


(: THIRTY-SECOND  SUNDAY.) 


publicly,  yet  they  do  not  seem  to  have  attempted  to  in- 
jure Paul  himself. 

Paul,  however,  separated  himself  and  his  disciples 
from  the  synagogue.  As  at  Corinth,  when  he  was  com- 
pelled to  leave  the  synagogue,  so  in  Ephesus,  God  pro- 
vided him  a friend  and  opportunity  to  continue  his 
work.  “ Tyrannus  was  probably  a teach  A’  of  philoso- 
phy or  rhetoric,  converted  by  the  Apostle.”  He  opened 
his  4 school  5 to  Paul,  and  most  likely  assisted  Paul  in 
his  * daily  ’ discussions.  The  converts  were  now  there- 
fore formed  into  a distinct  organization ; and  thus  the 
Ephesian  church  to  which  Paul  wrote  his  Epistle  was 
founded. 


During  the  two  years  while  Paul  taught  and  preached 
in  the  school  of  Tyrannus  much  more  good  was  done 
than  simply  within  the  city.  Jews  and  Greeks  through- 
out the  whole  province  of  Asia  heard  of  the  Christian 
doctrine.  No  doubt  other  churches  in  other  places 
were  founded  If  Paul  himself  did  not  go  out  of  the 


MIRACLES  AND  MAGIC -WORKERS. 


207 


city,  Timothy  and  Erastus,5  Epaphras6  and  Archippus,7 
may  have  gone  out  to  Colosse,6  Hierapolis,7  Laodi- 
cea,7  and  other  neighboring  towns. 

We  know  indeed  how  faithful  Paul  was  in  his 
Christian  Work  : that  he  not  only  taught  publicly  in  the 
school  of  Tyrannus,  but  went  about  4 from  house  to 
house  :’8  that  affectionately  and  4 with  tears’9  he  warned 
them  all,  ceasing  not,  4 night  and  day,’9  when  opportun- 
ity offered : that  he  most  earnestly  enforced  that  one 
great  lesson  of  the  Christian  preacher,  4 repentance  and 
faith ,’i0  and  while,  for  example’s  sake,  supporting  him- 
self by  labor,  he  4 shunned  not  to  declare  all  the  coun- 
sel of  God.’11  Such  faithful  labor  God  always  blesses. 
The  Ephesian  church  became  large  and  flourishing ; the 
Gospel  became  known  through  all  the  province ; and 
special  miracles,  beside  the  miraculous  gifts  of  tongues 
and  of  prophecy,  confirmed  the  divine  doctrine  earnestly 
preached. 

The  city  of  Ephesus  was  famous  through  all  the  an- 
cient world  for  two  especial  things : the  worship  of 
Diana  and  the  practice  of  magic/  We  shall  soon  see 
how  Paul’s  preaching  came  in  conflict  with  the  wor- 
ship of  Diana.  At  present,  we  are  called  to  notice  how 
the  unusual  miracles  which  Paul  wrought  came  in  con- 
flict with  the  practice  of  magic.  The  practice  of  magic, 
indeed,  was  closely  connected  with  the  worship  of 
Diana.  It  was  said  that  certain  44  mysterious  symbols, 
called  4 Ephesian  Letters,’  were  engraved  on  the  crown, 
the  girdle,  and  the  feet  of  the  goddess.”  When  these 
mystic  words  were  pronounced,  they  were  considered 
a charm,  especially  against  evil  spirits.  When  they 
were  written,  they  were  carried  about  as  amulets  or 
worn  on  some  part  of  the  body.  44  Curious  stories  are 

6 six.  22.  6 Colossians  i.  2,  7.  7 Colossians  iv.  12,  13,  15-17. 

B xx.  17,  18,  20.  9 xx.  31.  10  xx.  21.  11  xx.  27. 


208 


(: THIRTY-SECOND  SUNDAY.) 


told  of  their  influence.  The  rich  Croesus  is  said  to  have 
repeated  them  on  his  funeral-pile ; and  an  Ephesian 
wrestler  is  said  to  have  been  always  successful  against 
his  antagonist  from  Miletus  till  he  lost  the  parchment 
on  which  they  were  written.  The  study  o&  these  sym- 
bols was  an  elaborate  science ; and  books  both  numer- 
ous and  costly  were  written  by  learned  professors  55  of 
the  science.  Magicians  naturally  flocked  to  Ephesus  even 
more  than  they  did  to  Paphos  in  Cyprus.12  “Among 
those  wdio  were  in  the  city  during  Paul’s  residence 
there,  were  several  wandering  Jewish  magic-workers.” 
The  Jews  had  from  the  earliest  times  a strange  fond- 
ness for  these  practices ; and  sorcery  was  sternly  for- 
bidden by  the  law.13  And  now  even  more  than  ever, 
in  an  evil  age  of  superstition  and  imposture,  worthless 
men  of  the  chosen  nation  wandered  from  city  to  city, 
even  jfmong  the  Gentiles,  disregarding  their  God  and 
disgracing  alike  the  law  and  the  religion  of  their  fathers. 
Seven  brothers,  who  were  magicians,  soon  became  no- 
torious from  their  conduct  towards  Paul  in  Ephesus. 
Their  father’s  name  was  Sceva.  He  “ is  called  a chief- 
priest,  either  because  he  had  really  been  high-priest  at 
Jerusalem  or  because  he  was  chief  of  one  of  the  twenty- 
four  courses  of  priests.”  There  must  have  been  a neg- 
ligence indeed  in  the  father,  like  that  of  Eli  of  old,14  to 
permit  his  sons,  so  many  of  them,  to  go  so  far  astray 
from  the  very  worship  and  ordinances  of  Moses. 

The  c especial  miracles,’  or,  as  the  words  mean,  the 
c not  ordinary  miracles,’  wrought  by  Paul,  consisted  in 
the  communication  of  healing  power  to  the  diseased 

and  the  demoniac  by  means  of  garments,  handkerchiefs, 

• 

12  See  page  52  in  Eighth  Sunday.  * 

13  Deuteronomy  xviii.  10,  11  ; Leviticus  xx.  27 ; Exodus  xxii.  18; 
I.  Samuel  xxviii.  3,  9. 

14  I.  Samuel  ii.  12,  17 


MIRACLES  AMD  MAGIC -WORKERS. 


:oo 


and  aprons.  Here  was  a far  greater  effect,  openly  ob- 
served, than  anything  ever  known  to  be  produced  by 
the  charms  and  amulets  of  the  4 Ephesian  Letters.’  It 
was  publicly  known  that  real  cures  had  been  effected  by 
Paul.  Persons  known  to  have  been  possessed  of  de- 
mons had  been  made  sound  in  mind.  A strong  impres- 
sion must  have  been  made  44  on  the  minds  of  those  who 
practised  curious  arts  in  Ephesus.”  The  wandering  Jews 
thought  there  must  be  some  peculiar  magic  charm  in  the 
name  which  Paul  used.  Especially  Sceva’s  sons,  consid- 
ering nothing  sacred  which  would  add  to  their  arts  of  de- 
ception, did  not  scruple  at  once  to  profane  the  name  of 
Jesus  by  pronouncing  it  over  a demoniac.  The  demons 
were  subject  neither  to  them  nor  indeed  to  Paul,  but 
only  to  Jesus.  The  authority  of  Jesus,  used  by  Paul  the 
appointed  servant  of  Jesus,  they  were  forced  to  obey; 
but  they  scorned  and  defied  the  authority  of  wicked 
men,  who  profanely  tried  to  use  even  the  holy  name  of 
Jesus  for  their  own  purposes.  In  maddened  frenzy, 
the  demoniac  sprang  upon  the  apostate  priests,  over- 
powered and  wounded  them,  and  in  violent  rage  drove 
them  naked  from  the  house. 

44  The  fearful  result  of  the  profane  use  of  the  holy 
name  of  the  Saviour  soon  became  notorious  throughout; 
Ephesus.  Consternation  and  alarm  took  possession  of 
the  minds  of  many : the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus  began 
to  be  reverenced  and  honored.  The  conscience  of 
4 many  that  believed515  was  moved  by  this  testimony 
against  their  magic  arts  ; and  they  came  and  made  full 
confession  to  the  Apostle,  and  publicly  acknowledged 
and  forsook  their  sorcery. 

44  The  fear  and  conviction  seems  to  have  extended 
beyond  those  who  made  a profession  of  Christianity. 

15  Or  the  words  may  mean,  ‘ those  who  had  previously  believed/ 


210 


(: THIRTY-SECOND  SUNDAY.) 


A large  number  of  the  sorcerers  themselves  openly  re- 
nounced their  practice ; and  they  brought  together  the 
books  that  contained  the  mystic  symbols  and  burnt 
them  before  all  the  people.  When  the  volumes  were 
consumed,  they  proceeded  to  reckon  their  price.  Such 
books,  from  their  very  nature,  would  be  costly ; and  all 
books  of  that  age  were  vastly  more  expensive  than  the 
dearest  books  of  our  day.  Hence  we  must  not  be  sur- 
prised that  the  whole  cost  thus  surrendered  and  sacri- 
ficed amounted  to  as  much  as  nine  thousand  dollars.16 
This  scene  must  have  been  long  remembered  at  Ephe- 
sus. It  was  a strong  proof  of  honest  conviction  on  the 
part  of  the  sorcerers  and  a striking  witness  of  the 
triumph  of  Jesus  Christ  over  the  powers  of  darkness.” 

10  The  ‘ piece  of  silver ’ was  doubtless  the  drachma , the  Greek  coin 
of  the  time : its  value  was  about  eighteen  cents. 


(: THIRTY-SECOND  SUNDAY.) 


QUESTIONS. 

1I7TIY  was  Ephesus  the  meeting-place  of  many  classes  of 
' ’ men  ? 

What  was  one  class  now  in  Ephesus  ? 

How  many  men  were  there  of  this  class  ? 

Do  you  suppose  they  had  seen  Apollos  ? 

What  promise  did  Paul  now  fulfil  ? 

What  does  1 upper  coasts  ’ mean  ? 

What  was  Paul’s  question  to  these  disciples  ? 

Can  men  believe  without  receiving  the  Holy  Spirit  ? 
What  answer  did  these  disciples  make? 

Is  the  Holy  Spirit  a person  or  an  influence  ? 

Was  it  possible  that  these  men  could  not  have  heard  of 
Divine  influence? 

In  whose  name  did  the  Apostle  baptize  ? 

What  connection  has  the  question  about  baptism  with 
the  former  question  ? 

How  did  John’s  baptism  differ  from  this  baptism? 

Did  John  preach  faith  as  well  as  penitence  ? 

What  two  effects  followed  Paul’s  baptism  ? 

What  other  manifestations  were  these  effects  like  ? 
Why  may  we  think  Paul  worked  at  his  trade  ? 

How  many  Sabbaths  did  Paul  speak  in  the  synagogue  ? 
What  was  the  result? 

What  friend  received  Paul  ? Wfcat  was  he  ? 

Did  Paul  preach  more  or  less  often  than  before  ? 

How  long  was  he  teaching  in  Tyrannus’s  school  ? 

Who  else  heard  the  gospel  besides  the  Ephesians  ? 

What  other  persons  might  have  gone  out  of  Ephesus  ? 
Where  are  their  names  mentioned  ? 

To  what  places  may  they  have  gone  ? 

What  description  have  we  of  Paul’s  life  while  residing  in 
Ephesus  ? 

Point  out  as  many  particulars  of  it  as  you  can. 

What  was  the  one  great  lesson  he  taught  ? * 

(63) 


(: THIRTY-SECOND  SUN  DA  H) 

Are  repentance  and  faith  to  be  exercised  towards  the 
same  person  (xx.  21)  ? 

What  was  the  success  of  Paul’s  work  in  Ephesus  ? 
What  confirmed  the  doctrines  he  preached  ? 

What  two  things  was  Ephesus  famous  for  ? 

How  was  magic  connected  with  Diana  ? 

What  stories  are  told  of  these  symbols  ? 

What  books  were  written  ? By  whom  ? 

What  magic-workers  were  at  that  time  in  Ephesus  ? 
What  does  4 vagabond  ’ mean  ? 

What  had  been  the  tendency  of  the  Jews  ? for  how 
long  ? 

What  seven  brothers  ? Who  was  Sceva  ? 

What  does  '‘special  miracles’  mean?  What  were  these  mir- 
acles ? 

How  did  these  miracles  come  into  connection  with  the 
magic-workers  ? 

What  did  the  magicians  think  the  power  of  Paul  con- 
sisted in  ? 

What  is  the  meaning  of  4 adjure  ’ ? 

What  did  the  demoniac  answer  ? 

What  was  the  result  throughout  Ephesus  ? 

Is  the  4 many  ’ in  the  eighteenth,  the  same  as  that  in  the 
nineteenth  verse  ? 

What  was  the  cost  of  the  books  burned  ? 

How  do  you  account  for  this  large  cost  ? 

What  did  the  wholc^occurrence  prove  ? 


Cfrirfn-t Ijxrfr  Sunbatj. 


THE  TEMPLE  OF  DIANA. 


LESSON. 

Acts  xix.  21-34. 

1)AUL  was  never  satisfied  with  one  success  in  his 
■*-  Master’s  cause.  When  the  Gospel  was  received  by 
multitudes  in  one  place,  or  when  opposers,  like  Elymas 
the  sorcerer  of  Paphos,  or  like  the  sons  of  Sceva  at 
Ephesus,  were  overcome  by  some  triumphant  demon- 
stration of  God’s  power,  Paul,  confident  and  unwearied, 
pressed  on  to  new  journeys  and  new  labors.  The  suc- 
cess of  his  first  missionary  journey  with  Barnabas  only 
caused  another  and  longer  and  more  laborious  journey 
to  be  planned.  The  greater  success  of  the  second  jour- 
ney with  Silas,  only  led  him  to  plan  a third  and  more 
particular  journey  over  all  the  same  broad  region.  And 
now,  here  at  Ephesus,  on  his  third  journey,  we  find 
him  already  thinking  of  a fourth  missionary  journey. 
The  outline  of  Paul’s  plan  of  such  a journey  is  given  us. 
After  again  going  over  Macedonia  and  Achaia,  and  re- 
turning to  Jerusalem  with  the  collections  for  the  poor, 
the  great  Apostle  intends  to  make  a fourth  and  still 
more  extended  journey,  to  Pome  itself.  What  a dif- 
ferent journey  did  he  make  to  Rome  when  that  time 
came  ! as  a prisoner  ; and  yet  an  Apostle  and  a preach- 
er, though  a prisoner  ! At  present,  however,  Paul  re- 
mained in  Ephesus,  to  finish  his  work  there,  only  send- 
ing forward  Timothy  and  Erastus  to  visit  the  churches 


212 


( THIRTY-THIRD  SUNDAY.) 


of  Macedonia.  And  while  he  remained,  a remarkable 
tumult  took  place  in  the  city,  connected  with  the  wor- 
ship of  Diana.  We  need  to  know  something  more  of 
Ephesus  and  of  Diana  to  understand  it. 

Ephesus  had  become  “ the  chief  city  of  Asia  Minor,” 
“ the  metropolis  of  the  province  of  Asia,”  because  it 
was  situated  where  it  naturally  received  the  trade  of 
the  interior  provinces,  and  because  its  admirable  harbor 
brought  to  it  ships  from  all  countries.  To  the  north- 
east, a road  led  through  mountain  defiles  to  Sardis  and 
to  Phrygia.  To  the  east,  through  a gorge,  and  then  up 
the  valley  of  the  crooked  river  Meander,  went  a branch 
road  of  the  great  thoroughfare  to  the  distant  Euphrates, 
through  Iconium.  Along  these  roads,  and  many  smaller, 
the  slow  and  stately  caravan  of  merchants  wound,  or 
the  petty  traffickers  of  petty  towns  and  villages  brought 
their  goods  for  sale.  From  the  north,  from  the  west, 
from  the  south  and  the  east,  from  Smyrna  and  Troas, 
from  Philippi  and  Thessalonica,  from  Corinth  and 
Athens,  from  Miletus  and  Crete  and  Alexandria,  and 
Antioch  and  Tarsus,  came  ships  laden  with  merchan- 
dise to  anchor  in  her  harbors.  Partly  on  a mountain- 
slope,  partly  on  a smaller,  round-shaped  hill,  and  partly 
in  the  plain  between  these  heights  and  the  sea,  were 
tli§  buildings  of  the  city.  The  river  Cayster  flowed 
through  the  plain  in  its  winding  channel  to  the  sea.  A 
lake  near  its  mouth  made  the  inner  harbor.  Within 
the  walls,  which  stretched  along  the  plain  and  up  and 
down  the  uneven  surface  of  the  mountain-slope,  were 
the  principal  public  buildings.  There  was  a forum  with 
its  public  buildings  around  the  open  space  through  which 
the  excited  multitude  “ rushed  up  to  the  well-known 
place  of  meeting.”  There  was  a gymnasium,  between 
the  hill  and  the  mountain,  where  wrestlers  and  racers 
were  trained  for  their  contests.  There  were  temples  to 


THE  TEMPLE  OF  DIANA. 


213 


Jupiter  and  to  Julius  Caesar.  There  was  a vast  theatre, 
with  marble  seats,  one  of  the  largest  in  the  world,  not 
fir  from  the  foot  of  the  mountain.  There  were  build- 
ings for  bathing. 

But  outside  the  walls,  “ one  building  surpassed  all  the 
rest;  m magnificence  and  in  fame.  This  was  the  Temple 
of  Diana,  which  glittered  in  brilliant  beauty  at  the 
head  of  the  harbor,  and  was  reckoned  by  the  ancients 
as  one  of  the  wonders  of  the  world.  The  sun,  it  was 
said,  saw  nothing  in  its  course  more  magnificent  than 
Diana’s  Temple.  Its  immense  foundations  were  care- 
fully laid  in  the  marshy  ground,”  to  prevent  its  being 
shaken  by  earthquake,  it  is  said.  Its  walls  were  built 
of  marble,  from  neighboring  quarries.  “All  the  Greek 
cities  of  Asia  contributed  to  the  building.”  Croesus 
himsdf,  the  rich  King  of  Lydia,  helped  to  rear  the 
idolatrous  temple.  The  most  distinguished  architects 
directed  the  work.  After  many  years,  it  reached  its 
completion,  and  was  then  set  on  fire  on  the  night  in 
which  Alexander  was  born.  “ It  was  rebuilt,  with  new 
and  more  sumptuous  magnificence.  The  ladies  of  Ephe- 
sus gave  their  jewelry.  Alexander  the  Great  offered 
all  the  spoils  of  his  triumphant  eastern  campaign,  if  he 
might  inscribe  his  name  on  the  walls.  The  Ephesians 
continually  added  new  decorations  and  side  buildings, 
with  statues  and  pictures  by  the  most  famous  artists.” 
It  was  the  Temple  of  Diana  which  gave  fame  to  the 
city.  “ Oxford  in  England  is  not  more  Oxford  on  ac- 
count of  its  University,  than  Ephesus  was  Ephesus  on 
account  of  the  Temple  of  Diana.”  1 This  temple  was 
very  different  from  what  we  now  conceive  a temple  to 
be.  Like  other  temples  of  the  ancients,  it  was  not 
roofed  over,  so  as  to  receive  an  assembly  of  worship- 


1 Dr.  Eodge. 


214 


(THIRTY-THIRD  SUNDAY.) 


pers,but  consisted  of  several  colonnades  round  the  cham- 
ber in  which  the  idol  was.  A great  part  of  the  space 
was  open  to  the  sky.  The  graceful  beauty  of  these  col- 
umns was  superior  to  anything  the  world  had  before 
seen.  Eacli  column  was  the  gift  of  a king,  and  the 
number  of  them  was  one  hundred  and  twenty-seven,  of 
which  thirty-six  were  enriched  with  ornament  and  color. 
The  long  rows  of  these  graceful  and  beautiful  columns, 
sixty  feet  high,  enclosed  a space  two  or  three  times 
larger  than  the  largest  churches  of  our  cities,  for  the 
temple  was  four  hundred  and  twenty-five  feet  long,  and 
two  hundred  and  twenty  feet  broad.  “ The  folding- 
doors  were  of  cypress-wood ; the  part  which  was  not 
open  to  the  sky  was  roofed  over  with  cedar ; and  the 
stair-case  was  formed  of  the  wood  of  one  single  vine 
from  the  island  of  Cyprus.  The  value  and  fame  of  the 
temple  were  increased  by  the  fact  that  it  was  the  treas- 
ury, in  which  a large  portion  of  the  wealth  of  western 
Asia  was  laid  up.2  It  is  probable  that  there  was  no 
religious  building  in  the  world,  in  which  was  centred 
a greater  amount  of  admiration,  enthusiasm,  and  super- 
stition.” 

It  would  naturally  be  supposed  that  the  image  within 
this  splendid  temple  would  be  a beautiful  statue  of  the 
goddess,  like  the  statues  of  the  Athenian  Acropolis.  It 
was  not  so.  The  image  of  Diana  was  a rude  figure 
carved  from  wood,  resembling  more  the  ugly  idols  of 
India,  than  the  graceful  statues  of  Greece.  A woman’s 
form  above,  “ terminated  below  in  a shapeless  block. 
In  each  hand  was  a bar  of  metal.  The  dress  was  cov- 
ered with  mystic  symbols,  and  the  small  chamber  where 
it  stood,  within  the  temple,  was  concealed  by  a curtain 

2 One  modern  writer  says,  “ that  the  temple  of  the  Ephesian  Diana 
was  what  the  Bank  of  England  is  in  the  ir  odern  world.” 


THE  TEMPLE  OF  DIANA . 


215 


in  front.”  Such  was  the  rude  image  which  was  wor- 
shipped with  devout  veneration  at  Ephesus.  Like  one 
of  the  statues  of  Minerva  on  the  Acropolis  at  Athens, 
it  was  believed  to  have  4 fallen  from  the  sky.’  And  this 
belief  added  to  the  blind  idolatry  of  the  superstitious 
Ephesians. 

The  idolatrous  pilgrims  who  came  to  the  Temple  of 
Diana,  would  like  some  memorial  of  their  visit,  some 
image  of  the  goddess  or  model  of  her  temple ; and 
hence  at  Ephesus,  as  at  other  like  idolatrous  cities,  an- 
other heathen  custom  grew  up.  Little  images,  either 
of  the  chamber  in  which  the  goddess  dwelt,  or  of  her 
magnificent  temple,  were  made  and  sold  to  the  chang- 
ing crowd  which  thronged  the  streets.  These  were 
called  4 shrines.’  44  They  were  carried  in  processions, 
on  journeys  and  military  expeditions,  and  sometimes 
set  up  as  household  gods  in  private  houses.  The  ma- 
terial might  be  wood  or  gold  or  silver.”  Those  men- 
tioned in  the  Acts  were  made  of  silver.  These  had 
become  scattered  over  the  province,  and  borne  up  the 
roads  into  the  interior,  and  carried  away  on  ships  sail- 
ing to  almost  every  part  of  the  known  world. 

We  see*now  the  cause  of  the  excitement  which  De- 
metrius raised.  The  three  years 3 of  Paul’s  ministry  in 
Ephesus  were  drawing  to  a close  without  any  disturb- 
ance from  the  idolaters.  Paul  was  too  discreet  a man 
to  attack  any  person’s  occupation  directly  in  this  heath- 
en city,  although  he  preached  as  boldly  as  at  Athens 
that  the  4 Godhead  is  not  like  to  gold  or  silver  or  stone, 
graven  with  art  and  man’s  device.’  44  Paul’s  character 
had  risen  so  high  as  to  obtain  influence  over  the  wealth- 
iest and  most  powerful  persons  in  the  place,  and  the  in- 
terest of  one  of  the  prevalent  trades  was  seriously 


3 xx.  31. 


216 


( THIRTY-THIRD  SUNDAY.) 


/ 


threatened.”  Demetrius  gathered  together  his  fellow- 
silversmiths,  and  excited  them  against  Paul.  “ He  ap- 
pealed first  to  their  interest  and  then  to  their  fanati- 
cism.” He  told  them  their  profitable  business  was  in 
danger ; and  more  than  this,  the  temple  of  the  great 
goddess  Diana,  (to  which  we  can  imagine  him  pointing 
as  he  spoke,)  was  in  danger  of  being  despised,  and  her 
honor  and  her  worship,  extending  throughout  their 
province  of  Asia  and  the  civilized  world,  would  soon 
be  destroyed.  His  speech  was  like  flame  among  straw. 
The  crowd  was  instantly  in  a fury.  In  boisterous  rage, 
they  burst  into  a cry  in  honor  of  their  goddess  : c Great 
is  Diana  of  the  Ephesians  ! ’ They  soon  filled  the  city 
with  a tumult.  Citizens  and  strangers  were  quickly 
excited  by  the  violent  outcries  of  this  influential  class 
of  artisans.  A general  rush  was  made  towards  the 
theatre.  Paul  in  some  way  escaped.  But  his  travelling 
companions,  Gaius  and  Aristarchus,  were  hurried  off 
with  the  mob.  As  soon  as  Paul  knew  it,  “ a sense  of 
the  danger  of  his  companions  and  a fearless  zeal  for  the 
truth,  urged  him  to  hasten  to  the  theatre  and  present 
himself  before  the  people.”  His  converts  knew  too 
well  the  violence  of  such  a mob  to  permit  lij^n  to  run 
this  hazard.  Perhaps  they  would  not  have  succeeded 
in  preventing  him,  had  not  other  influential  friends  in- 
terfered also.  “And  now  is  seen  the  advantage  which 
is  secured  to  a righteous  cause  by  the  upright  character 
and  unflinching  zeal  of  its  champion.”  Some  of  the 
leading  men,  who  held  the  office  of  c Presidents  of  the 
Games,’ 4 at  certain  times  of  the  year,  had  learned  to  re- 
spect Paul’s  character.  “Whether  converted  or  not, 

4 ‘ The  chief  of  Asia’  were  ten  men  of  wealth,  who  were  annually 
elected  to  preside  over  the  games,  to  provide  the  necessary  expenses, 
and  to  maintain  order.  “ They  were  men  of  high  distinction  and 
extensive  influence.” 


THE  TEMPLE  OF  DIANA. 


217 


they  had  a friendly  feeling  towards  the  Apostle ; and 
well  knowing  the  passions  of  an  Ephesian  mob  when 
excited,  they  sent  an  urgent  message  to  him  to  prevent 
him  from  venturing  into  the  scene  of  disorder  and 
danger.  Then  Paul  reluctantly  consented  to  remain 
in  privacy,  while  the  mob  crowded  violently  into  the 
theatre,  filling  the  stone  seats,  tier  above  tier,  and  rend- 
ing the  air  with  their  confused  and  fanatical  cries.” 
Never  was  a mob  better  described  than  when  it  is  said 
4 the  greater  part  knew  not  why  they  were  come  to* 
gether.’ 

Why  was  Alexander  4 put  forward  ’ to  address  the 
assembly  ? 44  It  is  most  natural  to  suppose  that  the 

Jews  were  alarmed  by  the  tumult,  and  anxious  to  clear 
themselves  from  blame,  and  to  show  they  had  nothing 
to  do  with  Paul.”  The  Jews,  however,  were  enemies 
of  idolatry,  and  the  idolatrous  crowd  would  not  hear 
Alexander,  but  broke  out  into  a wild,  uproarious  clamor, 
shouting  and  crying,  especially  around  Gains  and  Aris- 
tarchus, for  two  long  hours,  the  name  and  the  praise 
of  their  goddess. 


(: THIRTY-THIRD  SUNDAY.) 


QUESTIONS. 

WIIAT  did  the  success  of  Paul’s  first  journey  lead  him  to  do  ? 
' * To  what  did  the  second  journey  lead  ? 

What  journey  does  Paul  plan  while  on  his  third  journey  ? 
Hid  he  accomplish  what  he  designed  ? 

Whom  did  he  send  on  before  him  ? Where  ? 

What  is  the  significance  of  4 so  he  sent  ’ ? 

What  natural  advantage  had  Ephesus  in  its  location  ? 

What  routes  by  land  ? What  by  sea  ? 

When  was  the  city  built  ? 

What  were  the  principal  buildings  within  the  city  ? 
What  are  outside  the  walls  ? 

What  was  thought  and  said  of  Diana’s  Temple  ? 

How  were  its  foundations  laid  ? It  was  built  of  what ! 
Who  helped  build  it  ? When  burned  ? 

How  was  it  decorated  ? 

How  is  Ephesus  compared  to  Oxford  ? 

Describe  the  form  of  the  Temple. 

How  was  its  value  increased  ? 

With  what  great  modern  institution  has  it  been  com- 
pared ? 

What  was  the  image  of  Diana  ? 

Where  was  it  placed  ? 

Where  did  this  image  come  from  ? 

What  other  image  had  the  same  thing  said  of  it  ? 

What  models  of  Diana’s  Temple  were  made  at  Ephesus  ? 
Who  bought  them  ? For  what  ? 

What  were  they  used  for  ? 

What  were  they  made  from  ? Carried  where  ? 

How  long  had  Paul  been  in  Ephesus  ? 

Had  he  had  any  persecution  ? 

Had  he  preached  against  idols  ? 

What  created  the  1 no  small  stir  ’ ? 

What  does  the  interference  with  this  sale  show  in  re- 
spect to  Paul’s  character  ? 

Whom  did  Demetrius  gather  ? 

(65) 


(: THIRTY-THIRD „ SUN  DA  T.) 


What  two  things  does  he  appeal  to  ? 

What  did  he  tell  them  first  ? 

What  did  he  next  refer  to  ? 

What  is  meant  by  4 almost  throughout  all  Asia  ’ ? 

What  does  the  twenty-sixth  verse  show  in  resject  to 
Paul’s  success  in  Ephesus  ? 

What  is  meant  by  4 all  the  world  ’ ? 

What  was  the  effect  of  Demetrius’  speech  ? 

What  was  the  meaning  of  their  cry  ? 

Why  would  the  city  soon  become  excited  ? 

What  building  was  filled  ? 

Who  were  carried  off  by  the  crowd  ? Why  ? 

Do  you  think  Paul  knew  of  the  disturbance  at  the^ first? 
W ould  Paul  have  withdrawn  ? 

What  did  he  now  wish  to  do  ? Why  ? 

Who  prevented  him  ? Why  ? 

Who  now  proved  Paul’s  friends  ? 

Who  were  these  men  ? 

By  what  name  are  they  called  in  the  Acts  ? 

What  message  did  they  send  ? Why  ? 

What  few  words  describe  this  mob  ? 

Why  was  Alexander  4 put  forward  ’ ? 

Why  wouldn’t  the  crowd  hear  him  ? 

What  especially  provoked  their  outcry  ? 

Around  whom  would  the  clamor  be  loudest  ? 


&[m‘fn-fourf[j  Smbrnr. 


THE  TOWN-CLERK  OP  EPHESUS. 


LESSON. 

Acts  xix.  35-41. 

ANOTHER  person  now  appears  among  the  excited 
multitude.  W e can  see  him  making  his  way  through 
the  clamorous  crowd  to  the  stage  of  the  theatre.  And 
either  because  the  excitement  of  the  mob  had  worn  itself 
out,  or  because  the  character  and  office  of  the  man  in- 
spired respect,  the  uproar  gradually  died  away  at  his  ap- 
pearance. It  was  the  4 Town-Clerk’  of  the  city.  Whether 
we  think  of  his  official  position  or  his  character  as  shown 
by  his  speech,  we  have  reason  to  say : 44  No  one  in  the 
city  was  so  well  suited  to  calm  this  Ephesian  mob.” 
Ephesus  was  a free  city , like  Thessalonica  ;*  only  the 
Romans  were  willing  to  pay  more  respect  and  honor  to 
Ephesus  than  to  Thessalonica.  “Asia  was  always  a 
favored  province  ” with  the  Romans,  and  Ephesus  was 
among  the  most  favored  of  the  Greek  cities.  The  city 
had  therefore  its  own  magistrates,  elected  by  the  people. 
One  of  these  magistrates  was  the  4 Town-Clerk.’  Per- 
haps the  title  of  4 Chancellor  ’ or  of  4 Recorder  ’ or  of 
4 Chief  Magistrate  ’ would  have  described  better  his  of- 
fice and  duties.  There  is  little  doubt  44  that  he  was  a 
magistrate  of  great  authority  in  a high  and  very  pub- 
lic position.  He  was  the  keeper  of  the  state*  papers 
and  of  the  city  records ; he  read  wb#t  was  of  public 


1 See  page  153  in  Twenty-third  Sunday. 


THE  TOWN-CLERK  OF  EPHESUS. 


219 


importance  before  the  senate  and  assembly ; he  was 
present  when  money  was  deposited  in  the  Temple  of 
Diana ; and  when  letters  were  sent  to  the  people  of 
Ephesus,  they  were  officially  addressed  to  him.  Hence 
no  magistrate  was  more  before  the  public  at  Ephesus. 
His  very  looks  were  familiar  to  all  the  citizens,  and  no 
one  was  so  likely  to  calm  and  disperse  an  angry,  ex- 
cited multitude.?  When  the  multitude  had  grown  suf- 
ficiently quiet  to  hear  him,  the  Town-Clerk  made  a 
short  address  to  them,  which  is  an  admirable  model  of 
candor,  good-judgment,  tact,  and  argument. 

SPEECH  OF  THE  TOWN-CLERK. 

He  presents  four  short,  strong  arguments  against  this 
turbulent  excitement,  every  one  of  which  is  stronger 
than  the  preceding. 

First  Argument.  (Verses  35,  36.)  What  man  is  he 
who  does  not  know  that  Ephesus  is  temple-keeper2  of 
the  great  goddess  Diana  ? u The  contradiction  of  a 
few  insignificant  strangers  cannot  affect  what  is  notori- 
ous in  all  the  world.”  c Ye  ought  therefore  to  be  quiet 
and  do  nothing  rashly.’ 

Second  Argument.  (Verse  37.)  These  men  whom 
you  have  brought  here  are  not  guilty  of  robbing  or 
profaning  the  temple3  nor  of  outraging  our  feelings  by 
blaspheming  our  goddess.  They  have  committed  no 
crime  against  Diana.  They  have  not  even  done  any- 
thing to  Avar  rant  this  great  and  prolonged  outcry  about 
our  goddess. 

2 See  the  margin.  The  word  meant  at  first  temple-sweeper,  and 
was  the  title  of  the  servant  who  took  care  of  the  temple.  “ It  be- 
came afterwards  a title  of  the  greatest  honor,  and  was  eagerly  appro- 
priated by  the  most  famous  cities.” 

3 ‘ Kobbers  of  churches that  is,  of  temples.  The  Greek  word 
means  ‘ temple-robbers' 


220  ( THIRTY-FOURTH  SUNDAY.) 

Third  Argument . (Verses  38,  39.)  In  respect  to 
the  complaint  of  Demetrius  and  the  silver-smiths,  why 
do  they  not  make  their  accusation  according  to  the  reg- 
ular course  of  law  ? If  these  men  have  done  them  in- 
justice, there  is  a remedy  provided.  The  Court  is  in 
session.  There  are  the  city  magistrates — for  the  very 
purpose  of  trying  such  offenders.  Or  let  them  appeal 
to  the  pro-consul  of  the  province ! 

Fourth  Argument . (Verse  40.)  This  is  the  most 
forcible  argument.  Such  an  uproar  as  this  puts  our  city 
and  its  freedom  in  peril.  The  government  may  call  us 
to  an  account ; and  we  have  no  excuse  for  this  tumult. 
And  you  know  what  the  Roman  law  is,  against  riotous 
assemblies  of  this  kind,  and  the  heavy  penalty  on  us  all 
for  disobedience. 

“ So  having  rapidly  brought  his  arguments  to  a 
climax,  he  calmed  down  the  excited  multitude  and  at 
once  pronounced  the  legal  words  which  declared  the  as- 
sembly dispersed.”  Demetrius  and  the  silversmiths  iioav 
saw  they  were  in  especial  danger ; for  they  had  excited 
the  tumult.  The  matter  had  gone  perhaps  farther 
than  they  intended.  The  people  saw  that  they  might 
be  entangled  also  in  an  accusation  against  Demetrius. 
“ The  stone  seats  were  gradually  emptied.  The  up- 
roar ceased,  and  the  rioters  disposed  to  their  various 
occupations  and  amusements.”  Thus  God  used  the 
Greek  and  Roman  authorities  to  protect  Paul,  in 
his  perilous  work  of  introducing  tho  religion  of  Jesus 
into  pagan  and  superstitious  countries.  The  magis- 
trates of  Philippi  had  been  compelled  to  respect  his 
rights : the  candid  good  sense  of  Gallio,  the  Pro-Con- 
sul of  Corinth,  had  defeated  Paul’s  persecutors : the 
eloquence  of  the  Ephesian  Town-Clerk  bud  forced  a 
riot  against  him  and  his  fellow-travellers  to  disperse. 

It  would  seem  that  this  was  one  of  the  last  occur- 


THE  TOWN-CLERK  OF  EPHESUS. 


221 


rences  of  Paul’s  three  year’s  residence.  But  before  we 
see  him  take  his  farewell,  we  must  notice  one  other 
important  thing  which  no  doubt  occurred  some  time 
during  his  stay  in  Ephesus.  This  was  the  writing  of 
The  First  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians . Among  other 
reasons  why  we  suppose  this  letter  was  written  while 
Paul  was  in  Ephesus  are  four  : 

First . Paul  spoke  of  remaining  at  Ephesus  when  he 
wrote  the  letter.4  The  letter  could  not  have  been  writ- 
ten after  he  left  Ephesus. 

Secondly . Apollos  had  been  in  Corinth .5  Paul  could 
not  have  well  known  this  before  he  reached  Ephesus : 
so  that  the  letter  must  have  been  written  after  he  came 
down  from  the  c upper  coasts  ’ and  found  that  Apollos 
had  gone  over  to  Corinth.6 

Thirdly . Aquila  and  Priscilla  were  with  him  when 
he  wrote  it.7  It  is  clear  that  they  resided  in  Ephesus.8 

Fourthly . There  was  constant  communication  across 
the  sea  from  Ephesus  to  Corinth.  And  Paul  was  in 
Ephesus  about  three  years.  Paul  must  have  heard 
often  from  Corinth.  It  seems  therefore  most  natural 
to  suppose  that  he  wrote  at  this  time  to  the  Corinth- 
ians.9 

Indeed  it  is  not  only  probable  that  Paul  wrote  this 
letter  to  the  Corinthian  Church,  but  that  he  visited 
Corinth  while  at  Ephesus ; for  when  he  wrote  his 
second  letter  to  the  Corinthians,  shortly  after  he  left 
Ephesus,  he  said  that  he  was  now  coming  a third  time 

SI.  Corinth,  xvi.  8.  5 i.  12  ; iii.  4,  22. 

Acts  xix.  1.  7 I.  Corinth,  xvi.  19. 

8 Acts  xviii.  18,  19,  26. 

9 The  ancient  inscription  (see  the  end  of  the  Epistle)  says  this  let* 
ter  was  written  at  Philippi.  Apply  the  above  reasons,  and  see  what 
you  think. 


222 


( THIRTY-FOURTH  SUNDAY.) 


to  them.10  If  he  was  on  his  way  to  a third  visit,  when 
he  left  Epl\esus,  then  there  must  have  been  a second , 
before  he  left  Ephesus.  No  doubt  Apollos  or  some  other 
Christian  had  come  across  to  Ephesus  from  Corinth 
and  told  Paul  of  the  state  of  things  among  the  Corinth- 
ian Christians.  He  had  much  to  tell  which  was  joyful 
and  hopeful ; but  much  also  which  was  painful ; for 
shameful  sins  had  crept  into  the  church.  There  were 
tares . among  the  wheat.  Corinth  was  a most  corrupt 
and  vicious  city;  and  Corinthian  Christians  had  be- 
come defiled  like  Christian  unbelievers.  If  Paul  made 
them  a visit  at  this  time,  it  was  to  correct  and  to  ad- 
monish the  Corinthian  believers  for  their  sins. 

After  his  return  to  Ephesus  from  this  second  journey, 
(if  the  supposition  is  right,)  we  suppose  he  sent  Tim- 
othy and  Erastus  on  before  him  to  Macedonia ; and 
then  after  some  time  had  passed, c some  members  of  the 
household  of  Chloe,  a distinguished  family  at  Corinth, 
arrived  and  from  them  Paul  learned  more  fully  what 
was  the  state  of  things  in  the  church  of  Corinth.11  An- 
other evil  had  sprung  up.  The  church  had  become  di- 
vided into  parties.  There  was  a Paul-party,  an  Apollos- 
party,  a Peter-party,  and  even  a Christ-party.11  Some 
professed  believers  had  become  vilely  and  shamelessly 
impure  in  their  life.  Some  were  showing  their  want  of 
brotherly  love  by  prosecuting  their  brethren  in  the  hea- 
then courts  of  law.  Some,  who  had  gone  1 >ack  into  open 
immorality,  had  even  begun  to  doubt  the  resurrection 
of  the  dead. 

And  therefore  Paul  writes  to  them 

THE  FIRST  EPISTLE  TO  THE  CORINTHIANS. 

And  therefore  do  we  find,  among  other  subjects,  that 
four  of  the  great  subjects  about  which  Paul  writes  are : 

20  II.  Corinth,  xii.  14 ; xiii.  1.  11  I.  Corinth,  i.  11-13. 


THE  TOWN-CLERK  OF  EPHESUS. 


223 


I.  Their  divisions  into  parties.  He  wishes  and  tries 
to  have  them  do  away  with  these.  (Chapter  i.  10-13  ; 
iii.  3-9,  21-23  ; iv.  6.) 

II.  Their  permission  of  shameless  immorality.  (Chaj)- 
ter  v.  11.) 

III.  Their  legal  prosecutions  of  each  other,  (chapter 
vi.  1,  5-7,)  while  they  ought  to  exercise  brotherly  love 
(or  charity)  towards  each  other.  (Chapter  xiii.) 

IV.  The  resurrection  of  the  dead.  (Chapter  xv.) 

In  the  conclusion  of  the  letter,  he  directed  the  Co- 
rinthians to  make  collections  for  their  poor  Christian 
brethren  in  Judea,  and  to  have  these  collections  ready 
for  him  when  he  came,  so  that  he  might  take  them  to 
Jerusalem.12  He  tells  them  also  that  he  is  expecting  to 
visit  Macedonia,13  and  that  perhaps  he  will  spend  the 
winter  in  Corinth,14  that  he  has  sent  the  youthful  Tim- 
othy on  before  him,  and  if  he  came  to  Corinth  to  give 
him  no  cause  of  fear,15  that  Aquila  and  Priscilla  and  the 
believers  who  assemble  in  their  house,  as  at  Corinth, 
send  their  salutations  and  Christian  love,16  and  that  he 
sends  his  own  salutations  and  love.17 

12  xvi.  1-3.  13  xvi.  5.  14  xvi.  6. 

15  xvi.  10  ; iv.  17.  16  xvi.  19.  17  xvi.  21,  24. 


( THIRTY-FOURTH  SUNDAY.) 


QUESTIONS. 

\\7HAT  person  now  makes  his  appearance  ? 

* * What  place  would  he  take  to  speak  ? 

Why  would  the  uproar  die  away  ? 

How  was  Ephesus  like  Thessalonica  ? 

Which  city  did  the  Romans  respect  the  more  ? 

Did  the  Romans  appoint  the  magistrates  in  Ephesus  ? 
What  other  name  might  be  substituted  for  ‘ Town- 
Clerk’ 

What  were  the  duties  of  his  office  ? 

Would  the  multitude  know  him  when  they  saw  him  ? 
How  many  arguments  does  the  Town-Clerk  present  ? 

What  was  the  object  of  his  arguments  ? 

What  was  the  first  argument  ? 

What  is  the  meaning  of  ‘worshipper’  or  ‘temple* 
keeper ’ ? 

Explain  the  meaning  of  the  thirty-sixth  verse. 

What  was  the  second  argument  ? 

What  is  the  meaning  of  ‘ robbers  of  churches  ’ ? 

What  was  the  third  argument  ? 

What  is  meant  by  ‘the  law  is  open’  ? 

Who  were  the  deputies  ? 

What  is  the  fourth  argument  ? 

Who  might  ‘ call  them  in  question  ’ ? 

What  were  they  in  danger  of  ? 

Who  would  be  responsible  for  the  riotous  assembly  ? 
Which  of  these  arguments  is  the  strongest  ? Which  the 
weakest  ? 

What  was  done  by  the  Town-Clerk  after  he  finished  his 
speech  ? 

What  did  Demetrius  now  see  ? 

Compare  Paul’s  escapes  at  Philippi,  at  Corinth,  at  Eph- 
esus. 

What  other  thing  probably  occurred  while  Paul  resided  in 
Ephesus  ? 


(. THIRTY-FOURTH  SUNDAY.) 


How  many  reasons  were  given  for  this  supposition  ? 

What  is  the  first  reason  ? 

Before  what  time  must  it  have  been  written  ? 

What  is  the  second  reason  ? 

How  do  you  know  he  had  been  there  ? 

After  what  time  must  it  have  been  written  then? 

What  is  the  third  reason  ? 

How  do  you  know  they  were  living  in  Ephesus  ? 

What  is  the  fourth  reason  ? 

What  makes  it  probable  that  Paul  visited  Corinth  during  # 
these  three  years  ? 

What  persons  brought  news  to  Paul  from  Corinth  ? 

What  evils  had  sprung  up  in  the  Corinthian  church  ? 
What  is  the  first  of  four  great  subjects  in  this  Epistle  ? tho 
second  ? the  third  ? the  fourth  ? 

What  is  the  subject  of  the  thirteenth  chapter  of  this  Epistle  ? 
What  is  the  subject  of  the  fifteenth  ? 

What  direction  does  Paul  give  in  the  conclusion  ? 

To  what  other  church  had  he  given  this  order  ? 

When  was  it  to  be  made  ? 

How  was  it  to  be  sent  ? 

What  does  Paul  write  in  respect  to  his  visiting  them  ? 

What  about  Timothy  ? Aquila  and  Priscilla  ? 

(68) 


CIjhijr-fifHj  Sxmbatr. 


TITUS,  THE  MESSENGER. 


LESSON. 

Acts  xx.  1,  2 ; II.  Corinthians  ii.  12,  13  ; vii.  S-Y. 

D A OX’S  work  was  now  finished  in  Ephesus.  At  least 
he  thought  it  best  to  remain  no  longer.  His  presence 
might  be  the  cause  of  new  excitement  and  perhaps  of 
trouble  or  of  persecution  to  others  than  himself ; and 
as  there  were  now  many  who  could  teach  and  preach 
the  doctrines  of  Jesus,  the  good  work  could  be  carried 
on  without  him.  He  therefore  called  the  disciples  to- 
gether, and  affectionately  bade  them  farewell.  How 
much  had  been  accomplished  during  the  three  years ! 
There  had  been  many  converts  : a large  church  had  been 
established : enemies  had  been  convinced  : many  had 
ceased  to  worship  Diana : the  sale  of  shrines  had  de- 
creased : the  whole  province  of  Asia  had  heard  the 
word  of  God : perhaps  it  was  at  this  very  time  that 
the  other  six  of  the  seven  churches  of  Asia1  were 
founded.  (See  map  on  page  127.) 

After  the  affectionate  parting  between  Paul  and  the 
Christians  of  Ephesus,  we  are  told  very  little  of  Paul’s 
labors  during  nine  or  ten  months.  All  the  notice  we 
have  of  this  period  in  the  Acts  is  in  the  first  two  verses 
of  the  twentieth  chapter.  We  have,  however,  many 
hints  given  us  in  his  letters  in  regard  to  his  journey, 
his  visits,  and  his  labors.  We  shall  soon  see  that  the 
second  epistle  to  the  Corinthian  Christians  was  written 


1 Revelation  i.  11. 


TITUS,  THE  MESSENGER. 


225 


from  Philippi,  and  therefore  from  that  epistle  we  are 
able  to  learn  about  Paul’s  second  journey  from  Asia 
into  Macedonia. 

Who  were  Paul’s  fellow-travellers  now  from  Ephesus 
to  Macedonia  ? Timothy  we  have  supposed  was  with 
him  from  Antioch  to  Ephesus.  But  he  had  sent  Tim- 
othy on  before  him.2  Two  disciples  from  Asia  are  men- 
tioned when  he  returns  from  Corinth,3  and  one  of  them 
was  an  Ephesian.4  They  both  continued  faithful  friends 
of  Paul  in  his  journeys  and  labors  afterwards.5  Even 
when  Paul  was  prisoner  in  Rome  he  mentions  these 
two  natives  of  Asia  as  his  ready  helpers  and  followers.6 
These  are  Tychicus  and  Trophimus.  It  is  not  unlikely 
that  they  were  with  Paul  on  the  way  from  Ephesus  to 
Macedonia  anti  Greece. 

Paul  stopped  at  Troas7  on  his  way.  If  he  went  by 
ship,  he  sailed  again  among  the  islands  of  the  Archipe- 
lago, and  at  length  anchored  in  that  harbor  from  which 
he  went  before,  4 in  a straight  course  ’ to  Samothrace.8 
Before,  he  had  been  forbidden  by  the  Holy  Spirit  to 
preach  here,8  but  now  his  preaching  was  successful. 
The  way  was  open  for  him  to  do  great  good.  He  evi- 
dently intended  to  remain  longer  in  Troas,  but  he  was 
greatly  troubled  in  spirit  because  Titus  did  not  meet 
him  there  as  he  expected.  Titus,  it  will  be  remem- 
bered, was  the  Greek  who  was  not  circumcised  at  the 
council  of  Jerusalem;  and  it  is  supposed  that  Paul 
sent  him  from  Ephesus  to  Corinth9  on  an  errand  to  the 
church,  in  part  if  not  wholly  to  make  ready  the  collec- 

2 Acts  xix.  22.  3 xx.  4.  4 xxi.  29. 

6 xxi.  29;  Ephesians  vi.  21  ; Colossians  iv.  7;  Titus  iii.  12. 

e He  mentions  them  in  II.  Timothy  iv.  12,  20  ; and  that  Paul  waa 
in  Rome  when  he  wrote  that  epistle,  see  clapter  i.  verse  lY. 

7 II.  Corinthians  ii.  12,  13.  8 Acts  xvi.  6,  8,  11. 

9 II.  Corinthians  xii.  18  ; vii.  13. 


226 


(: THIRTY-FIFTII  SUNDAY.) 


tions  for  the  poor  in  Judea.  Paul,  before  lie  left  Eplie 
sus,  bad  no  doubt  expected  to  bear  from  Titus  an  ac- 
count of  the  condition  of  the  Corinthian  church,  but  as 
the  uproar  in  the  theatre  led  him  to  depart  sooner  than 
he  had  anticipated,  and  before  Titus  returned,  he  left 
word  for  Titus  to  join  him  on  his  journey.  Paul  grew 
most  anxious  at  Troas  to  see  Titus,  and  to  learn  how  the 
Corinthian  Christians  had  received  his  advice  and  his 
rebukes.  44  He  had  resolved  to  wait  for  Titus  at  Troas, 
expecting  he  would  come  soon.  Pie  was  disappointed  : 
week  after  week  passed,  but  Titus  did  not  come.  It 
was  to  be  hoped  that  he  would  bring  news  of  the  tri- 
umph of  good  over  evil  at  Corinth ; yet  it  might  not 
be  so.  The  Corinthians  might  have  forsaken  the  faith 
of  their  first  teacher,  and  have  rejected  his  messenger. 
Paul  appears  to  have  suffered  all  the  sickness  of  hope 
deferred.  4 My  spirit  had  no  rest,  because  I found  not 
Titus  my  brother.’  ” His  anxiety  did  not  prevent  his 
preaching.  In  the  synagogue  as  usual,  and  first  to  the 
Jews  no  doubt,  he  preached  4 Christ’s  Gospel  ’ — the  glad 
news  of  the  Messiah.  Some,  if  not  many,  were  ready 
to  hear.  4 ‘And  the  foundation  of  a church  was  laid 
which  we  shall  find  him  revisiting  not  long  afterwards.” 
But  now  his  anxiety  about  the  more  important  Corinth- 
ian church  and  the  importance  of  meeting  Titus  urged 
him  on.  Embarking,  therefore,  and  ‘loosing  from  Troas,’ 
and  sailing  over  the  waters  of  the  upper  Archipelago, 
past  the  familiar  islands  and  jutting  points  and  moun- 
tain-heights, he  came  again  to  Neapolis,  and  from  thence 
to  Philippi.10 

Here  were  warm  friends  for  the  Apostle : the  simple- 
hearted  Lydia  with  her  open  house,  only  too  glad  to 

10  As  one  of  the  objects  of  Paul’s  visit  was  to  make  collections  for 
the  poor  Christians  of  Judea,  he  would  not  pass  by  a church  so  im- 
portant as  that  of  Philippi. 


TITUS , THE  MESSENGER . 


227 


receive  him : the  brethren  who  had  assembled  in 
Lydia’s  house  to  bid  Paul  farewell : the  jailer  and  his 
family.  Some  or  all  of  these,  and  others  who  had  since 
believed,  were  full  of  joy  and  of  cordial  affection.  44  For 
of  all  the  churches  which  he  founded,  the  Philippians 
seem  to  have  been  the  most  free  from  fault  and  most 
attached  to  Paul.”  When  Paul  wrote  his  epistle  to 
them  afterwards,  he  finds  no  fault,  but  highly  praises 
them ; and  so  ardent  was  their  love  for  Paul  that  they 
had  sent  to  him  gifts  to  cheer  and  to  support  him.11 
But  even  all  their  warmth  of  affection  and  tender  kind- 
ness did  not  take  away  the  gloom  from  Paul’s  mind. 
He  himself  says,  that  when  he  4 came  into  Macedonia,’ 
he  4 had  no  rest,’  he  was  4 troubled  on  every  side,’  he 
had  4 fightings  without  ’ and  4 fears  within.’  It  was 
the  time  perhaps,  more  than  any  other  in  his  life,  when 
Paul  seemed  to  be  weighed  down  by  his  afflictions, 
and  more  than  all,  by  anxiety  from  the  4 daily  care  of 
all  the  churches.’12  But  how  nobly  and  bravely  he  tri- 
umphed over  all  his  afflictions  and  anxieties  ! 

44At  length  the  long-expected  Titus  arrived  at  Philippi 
and  relieved  Paul’s  anxiety  by  better  news  than  he  had 
hoped  to  hear.  The  most  of  the  Corinthian  Christ- 
ians had  yielded  to  Paul’s  advice  and  rebuke,  and  shown 
the  deepest  sorrow  for  the  sins  into  which  they  had 
fallen.”  They  had  ceased  to  permit  the  gross,  open  im- 
moralities. They  had  already  made  in  part  at  least 
their  collections  for  the  jDOor  believers  of  Palestine. 

But  there  were  a few  who  did  not  submit  with  the 
rest  of  the  church.  They  were  louder  and  more  bitter 
than  ever  in  their  tone  against  the  Apostle.  They  were 
even  ready  to  charge  that  he  was  selfish  in  making  the 
collections,  insinuating  most  probably  that  he  had  some 

11  Philippians  iv.  15,  1&.  12  II.  Corinthians  xi.  28. 


228 


( THIRTY-FIFTH  SUNDAY.) 


selfish  interest  in  this  plan  of  raising  money  and  gifts 
for  others.  “ The  same  opponents  accused  him  also  of 
vanity  and  of  cowardly  weakness : they  declared  that  he 
was  continually  threatening  without  striking  and  pro- 
mising without  performing  ; always on  his  way  to  Co- 
rinth, but  never  venturing  to  come  ; and  that  he  was 
as  fickle  in  his  teaching  as  in  his  practice ; refusing  to 
circumcise  Titus,  yet  circumcising  Timothy ; a Jew 
among  the  Jews  and  a Gentile  among  the  Gentiles.” 
It  would  seem,  also,  that  there  were  unkind  compari- 
sons made  between  Paul  and  other  religious  teachers  in 
Corinth. 

Having  received  this  information  from  Titus,  Paul 
directed  Titus  to  return  and  to  continue  the  collections 
in  the  churches  of  Achaia.  And  he  sends  by  him  an- 
other letter,  not  addressed  as  the  first  epistle  had  been, 
simply  to  Corinth,  but  to  all  the  churches  in  the  pro- 
vince of  Achaia ; perhaps  in  Athens  and  Cenohraea,  in 
Argos  and  Sicyon  and  Megara.  The  object  of  the 
Apostle  was  to  encourage  and  calm  the  larger  number 
of  the  believers  ; and,  at  the  same  time,  to  warn  and 
denounce  those  who  despised  his  Apostolic  authority 
and  the  commands  of  the  Messiah. 

SECOND  EPISTLE  TO  THE  CORINTHIANS. 

Among  the  many  subjects  in  respect  to  which  this 
epistle  was  written,  we  may  notice, 

I.  Thanksgiving  for  deliverance  from  great  danger  in 
‘Asia,’  probably  in  Ephesus.  (Chapter  i.  3,  4,  8-10.) 

IP  The  reason  for  postponing  his  visit  to  Corinth. 
(Chapter  i.  15,  16,  23.) 

III.  Forgiveness  to  those  who  grieve  for  their  im- 
morality. (Chapter  ii.  10.) 

IY.  His  distress  at  not  hearing  from  them  by  Titus. 
•(Chapter  ii.  12,  13  ; vii.  5.) 


TITUS,  THE  MESSENGER. 


229 


V.  His  joy  at  the  good  news  Titus  brought.  (Chap- 
tv  r vii.  6-9,  13,  16.) 

VI.  Directions  for  the  collections.  The  example  of 
the  Macedonians  ought  to  teach  them  how  to  give. 
(Chapter  viii.  1-4,  6 ; ix.  6,  7.) 

VII.  Answer  to  those  who  were  bitter  against  him, 
(chapter  x.  1,  2,  10,  11  ; xi.  18,  22-31,)  and  to  those 
who  denied  his  Apostleship.  (Chapter  xii.  11,  12.) 

VIII.  W arning  of  punishment  to  those  who  were  not 
penitent  for  sin.  (Chapter  xii.  20,  21  ; xiii.  1,  2.) 

Any  one  who  reads  this  Epistle  carefully  through, 
will  find  two  whole  chapters  (viii.  ix.)  devoted  to  the 
subject  of  the  collection.  It  was  a thing  of  great  im- 
portance in  Paul’s  mind,  not  only  because  he  wished  all 
believers  to  be  generous,  but  because  he  saw  that  gen- 
erosity exercised  by  the  Gentiles  abroad  towards  the 
Jews  at  Jerusalem  would  bind  both  Jews  and  Gentiles 
together  in  Christian  love,  and  so  prevent  that  foolish 
and  wicked  division  in  the  church  to  which  they  were 
so  liable. 

Titus,  the  earnest-minded  Greek  disciple,  bore  this 
epistle  to  his  Corinthian  countrymen.  When  the  Apos- 
tle ‘ exhorted’  him  to  do  it,  he  c went  of  his  own  accord.’ 
Some  brother  whose  name  we  do  not  know,  but  whose 
praise  was  ‘ throughout  all  the  churches,’ 13  went  with 
Titus  to  Corinth 


1 II.  Corinthians  viii.  16-18. 


(TIIIRTY-FIFTH  SUNDAY.) 


QUESTIONS. 

WHY  was  it  best  for  Paul  to  leave  Ephesus  ? 

T State  as  many  things  as  you  can  which  were  acconn 
plished  during  the  three  years.  . 

How  long  a time  is  passed  over  in  these  two  verses  of  the 
twentieth  chapter  ? 1 

Where  have  we  any  particulars  given  in  respect  to  this 
period  ? 

Where  was  the  second  letter  to  the  Corinthians  written  ? 
Who  were  fellow-travellers  of  Paul  into  Macedonia? 

What  had  become  of  Timothy  ? 

Where  were  Tychicus  and  Trophimus,  Paul’s  faithful 
friends  afterwards  ? 

Wrhat  place  did  Paul  stop  at  ? 

What  had  he  been  forbidden  to  do,  when  at  Troas  be- 
fore ? 

What  was  the  prospect  in  his  preaching  now  ? 

What  is  meant  by  4 a door  was  opened  unto  me,’  etc.  ? 
What  troubled  Paul  ? 

Who  was  Titus  ? Where  mentioned  first  before  ? 

Where  is  it  supposed  that  Paul  had  sent  him  ? 

On  what  errand  had  he  sent  him  ? 

What  word  had  Paul  probably  left  at  Ephesus  for  Ti- 
tus ? 

Why  was  Paul  so  anxious  to  see  Titus  ? 

What  is  meant  by  ‘Christ's  Gospel’  ? 

How  was  it  right  for  Paul  to  leave  Troas,  when  there 
were  such  prospects  of  good  from  preaching  ? 
Why  is  it  probable  that  Paul  now  went  directly  to  Philippi  ? 
Whom  did  he  see  there  ? 

How  did  the  Philippian  church  compare  with  other 
churches  ? 

What  was  the  state  of  Paul’s  mind  ? 

What  especially  weighed  him  down  ? 

Had  Paul  good  reason  to  be  downcast  ? 

lA  note  in  the  next  lesson  will  show  how  this  time  is  reckoned. 

(69) 


(: THIRTY-FIFTII  SUNDAY.) 


Did  he  yield  to  it,  so  as  to  give  way  before  it  ? 

What  was  the  effect  of  the  arrival  of  Titus  ? 

What  news  did  he  bring  from  Corinth  ? 

What  was  the  state  of  a few  in  Corinth  ? 

What  direction  did  Paul  give  immediately  to  Titus? 

What  letter  did  h 3 send  by  him  ? 

To  whom  is  this  letter  directed  ? 

WThat  other  churches  were  there  besides  that  in  Corinth  ? 
What  were  the  two  objects  of  this  letter  ? 

Turn  to  this  Epistle  and  point  out  his  thanks  for  escape  from 
peril. 

Show  the  reason  for  putting  off  his  visit  to  Corinth, 
(twenty- third  verse  especially.) 

Show  his  forgiveness  towards  his  enemies. 

Point  out  his  distress  at  the  absence  of  Titus. 

Show  his  joy  at  the  coming  of  Titus. 

What  are  his  directions  for  the  collections  ? 

What  was  the  example  of  Macedonia  ? 

What  did  he  say  to  his  opposers  ? 

What  answer  to  the  deniers  of  his  Apostleship  ? 

What  were  the  ‘ signs  of  an  Apostle  ’ ? # 

What  warning  against  the  impenitent  church  members, 
(xiii.  2 especially)  ? 

What  was  one  thing  of  great  importance  in  Paul’s  mind  ? 
How  many  chapters  are  given  to  the  subject  ? 

Why  was  it  of  so  much  importance  ? 

Who  went  with  Titus  ? 

(70) 


jiimtrag. 


SIX  MONTHS  IN  MACEDONIA  AND  ILLYEICUM. 


L E S S 0 H . 

Acts  xx.  2,  3. 

AFTER  Titus  had  gone,  Paul  still  continued  in  the 
regions  to  the  north  of  Greece.  As  he  must  have 
been  ten  months  at  least  in  going  from  Ephesus  to  Co- 
rinth and  back  to  Philippi,  and  as  only  three  months 
of  this  time  were  spent  in  Corinth,  seven  months  at 
least1  must  have  been  spent  on  the  journey  to  and  from 
Corinth,  and  the  greater  part  of  the  seven  months  must 
have  been  passed  in  Macedonia  or  Illyricum.  Paul 
might  have  wished  that  the  Corinthians  should  have 
full  time  to  consider  his  letter  before  he  reached  Co- 
rinth. He  might  have  desired  to  avoid  any  further  bit- 
terness or  excitement  in  his  opposers,  till  they  should 
have  considered  his  warnings  and  should  have  had 
space  for  repentance.  He  had  more  than  time,  there- 
fore, to  visit  the  churches  of  Philippi,  Thessalonica,  and 
Berea.  As  a Roman  citizen  with  established  rights,  he 
could  quietly  instruct  the  Philippian  believers.  Per- 
haps he  preached  now  in  Amphipolis  and  Apollonia. 
No  mob  of  idlers  forced  him  again  to  leave  Jason’s 

1 From  Pentecost  (I.  Corinthians  xvi.  8)  in  May  till  ‘ the  days  of  un- 
leavened bread,’  (Acts  xx.  6,)  that  is,  the  Passover  in  the  next  March, 
was  ten  months.  Three  months  in  Corinth  leaves  seven  months 
on  the  road.  If  Paul  left  Ephesus  before  Pentecost  in  May,  on  ac- 
count of  the  uproar  in  the  theatre,  the  time  must  have  been  longer. 


IN  MACEDONIA  AND  ILLYRICUM. 


231 


house  in  Thessalonica.  When  he  reached  Corinth,  he 
wrote  to  Rome  that  he  had  6 fully  preached  the  Gospel 
of  Christ  round  about  unto  Illyricum.’2  It  is  most 
likely,  therefore,  that  this  was  the  time  when  he  went 
to  the  prominent  cities  of  Macedonia,  as  far  as  the  very 
boundaries  of  Illyricum,  or  when  he  even  preached  in 
the  towns  of  Illyricum.  All  this  may  reasonably  be 
included  in  the  words,  c when  he  had  gone  over  those 
parts  and  given  them  much  exhortation.’  If  this  is  true, 
then  he  would  naturally  follow  the  great  road  west  from 
Thessalonica.  And  this  time  he  must  have  climbed  the 
mountains  towards  Edessa,  from  which  he  looked  down 
on  the  broad  and  beautiful  valley  of  the  Axius.  • In 
Edessa  he  may  have  preached,  and  in  other  cities,  till 
he  came  even  to  Dyrrachium,  from  which  place  he 
might  have  been  ferried  across  to  Italy.3  On  the  west 
side,  as  on  the  east  side  of  the  Adriatic  Sea,  it  was  the 
same  road  which  led  to  Rome.  Whether  Paul  went 
into  those  distant  regions,  or  never  passed  over  the 
mountain  boundary  of  Macedonia,  there  was  enough  to 
occupy  his  time  till  he  deemed  it  best  to  turn  his 
footsteps  southward  towards  Greece. 

“ During  his  stay  at  Ephesus,  and  in  all  parts  of  his 
journey  in  Troas  and  Macedonia,  his  heart  had  been 
continually  at  Corinth.  He  had  been  in  frequent  com- 
munication with  his  inconsistent  and  rebellious  con- 
verts.” He  had  written  them  letters.  He  had  sent 
messengers  and  messages.  He  had  probably  made 
them  a visit.  Now  there  were  even  more  than  ever 
urgent  reasons  why  he  should  be  in  Corinth.  His  se- 
cond letter  had  reached  them  some  time  before.  His 
presence  would  be  of  great  service  in  aiding  the  well- 
disposed  and  in  restraining  the  evil-minded.  He  wished 
to  receive  the  collections  for  the  poor  Christians  of 
2 Romans  xv.  19.  3 See  map  on  page  14G. 


232 


(: THIRTY-SIXTH  SUNDAY.) 


Judea,  so  that  lie  could  take  them  with  him  on  his 
return  to  Jerusalem, 

If  the  calculation  which  has  been  made  in  respect  to 
the  length  of  time  during  which  Paul  was  on  the  way 
from  Ephesus  to  Corinth  is  correct,  then  it  must  now 
have  been  near  the  winter  season.  It  was  in  Novem- 
ber or  December  that  Paul  and  his  fellow-travellers 
turned  southward,  taking  no  doubt  Berea  in  their 
course ; “ and  this  makes  it  likely  that  he  went  by  land 
rather  than  by  sea.”  ( See  the  frontispiece  map.) 
We  know  the  ancient  ship-masters  did  not  like  to  ven- 
ture out  on  the  boisterous  winter  seas.4  “A  good  road 
to  the  south  had  long  been  formed  from  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Berea,  connecting  the  chief  towns  of  Macdo- 
nia  with  those  of  Achaia.  Opportunities  would  not 
be  wanting  for  preaching  the  Gospel  at  every  stage  of 
his  journey ; and  we  may  infer  either  that  churches 
were  formed  in  every  chief  city  between  Thessalonica 
and  Corinth,  or  that  the  glad  tidings  had  been  unsuc- 
cessfully proclaimed.” 

“ It  was  probably  already  winter  when  Paul  once  more 
beheld  in  the  distance  the  lofty  citadel,  towering  above 
the  isthmus  which  it  commands.  The  gloomy  season  must 
have  harmonized  with  his  feelings  as  he  approached. 
The  clouds  which  hung  round  the  summit  of  the  Acro- 
Corinthus  and  cast  their  shadow  upon  the  city  below, 
typified  the  mists  of  vice  and  error  which  darkened  the 
minds  even  of  its  Christian  citizens.  Paul  knew  that, 
for  some  of  them,  he  had  labored  in  vain.  He  was  re- 
turning to  converts  who  had  become  immoral : to  friends 
who  had  forgotten  his  love  : to  enemies  who  denied  his 
apostolic  authority.  It  is  true  the  most  of  the  Corinth- 
ian Christians  had  repented  of  their  worst  sins ; yet 
even  towards  the  penitent  he  could  not  feel  all  the  con- 


4 Acts  xxvii.  9 . 


IN  MACEDONIA  AND  ILL  YD  IQ  UM. 


233 


fidence  of  earlier  affection.  And  there  were  still  left  a 
few  obstinate  ones,  who  would  not  give  up  their  habits 
of  impurity,  and  who,  when  he  spoke  to  them  of  right- 
eousness and  judgment  to  come,  replied  by  openly  de- 
fending their  sins  or  by  denying  his  authority.  He 
now  came  prepared  to  put  down  this  opposition  with  the 
utmost  decision.  He  was  resolved  to  cast  out  of  the 
church  these  opposers  of  truth  and  goodness,  just  as, 
in.  the  exercise  of  his  apostolic  authority,  he  had  warned 
them  a few  months  before,  ; when  I come  again,  I will 
not  spare.’5  His  weapons  are  not  now  carnal,  as  when 
he  went  with  horsemen  and  spearmen  to  Damascus,  but 
spiritual,  c mighty  through  God  to  pull  down  the  strong- 
holds ’ of  his  wicked  enemies. 

As  Paul  came  along  the  isthmus  road,  looking  out 
now  on  one  sea,  now  on  the  other,  and  perhaps  from 
some  height  catching  a view  of  Athens,  his  thoughts 
must  have  gone  back  to  happier  times  : when  after  land- 
ing at  Cenchnea,  discouraged  from  his  ill-success  at  Ath- 
ens, in  a few  short  months  a large  church  had  been 
gathered  in  Corinth  : when  God  visited  him  in  a vision 
and  promised  him  c much  people  in  this  city  when  no 
persecutors  nor  opposers  succeeded  against  him.  From 
this  busy,  wicked,  polluted  city  God  had  gathered  a 
great  number  to  be  his  children.  “ Hundreds  of  be- 
lievers now  called  on  the  name  of  Jesus,  who,  when  he 
first  came  to  Corinth,  worshipped  nothing  but  gods  like 
their  own  ambition  and  anger  and  lust.  It  was  painful 
to  think  their  conversion  so  incomplete  that  they  were 
still  defiled  by  heathen  pollutions,  but  the  most  of  them 
had  repented ; the  obstinate  ones  were  few ; and  if  the 
older  ones  were  tied  by  chains  of  habit,  the  children 
might  be  trained  up  in  the  service  of  the  Lord.  Such 


6 II.  Corinthians  xiii.  2. 


234 


(: THIRTY-SIXTH  SUNDAY.) 


may  have  been  some  of  Paul’s  thoughts,  as  his  little 
company  drew  near  the  city  walls  and  entered  the  well- 
known  gates.  And  what  thoughts  of  the  faithful  breth- 
ren thronged  their  minds,  of  Erastus  the  Treasurer,6  of 
Stephanas  and  Epenetus,7  of  Fortunatus  and  Achaicus,8 
of  Gaius,6  as  they  threaded  their  way  amid  the  noise 
and  bustle  of  the  crowded  streets.  Aquila  and  Priscilla 
were  not  there  to  open  their  doors  to  Paul,  (we  shall 
soon  find  they  had  returned  to  Rome,)  but  the  hospita- 
ble Gaius,  who  was  ever  ready  to  entertain  his  believ- 
ing brethren,9  received  the  Apostle  into  his  house. 

It  is  supposed  that  at  Corinth  Paul  received  news 
from  the  churches  in  Galatia : that  painful  tidings  had 
come  across  the  Aegean  from  Ephesus  concerning*  the 
condition  of  the  Galatian  Christians  which  aroused  his 
astonishment  and  his  indignation.  “ His  converts  there 
were  forsaking  his  teaching  in  respect  to  obeying  the 
customs  and  rites  of  Moses’  law,10  and  were  listening  to 
false  missionaries  from  Palestine,  who,  like  those  who 
had  once  come  down  to  Antioch,  said  that  they  could 
not  be  saved  unless  they  were  circumcised  ahd  kept  the 
law  of  Moses.11  They  said,  too,  like  the  party  hostile  to 
Paul  in  Corinth,  that  Paul  was  not  an  Apostle,  “ for  he 
had  not,  like  the  twelve  Apostles,  been  a follower  of 
Jesus  on  earth  : that  he  was  only  a teacher  sent  out  by 
authority  of  the  Twelve,  and  his  teaching  was  to  be  re- 
ceived only  so  far  as  it  agreed  with  theirs.”  And  so 
the  Galatian  Christians,  more  simple-minded  than  the 
Christians  of  Corinth  or  of  Ephesus,  were  being  troubled 
about  that  c difficult  question  ’ 13  which  had  been  care- 

6 Romans  xvi.  23.  7 Romans  xvi.  5 ; I.  Corinthians  xvi.  15. 

8 T.  Corinthians  xvi.  17. 

9 Romans  xvi.  23.  ‘ Gaius  mine  host  and  of  the  whole  church .’ 

Circumcision,  washings,  unclean  meats,  etc.  11  Act3  xv.  1,  5. 

12  See  Fifteenth  Sunday. 


IN  MACEDONIA  AND  ILLY RI CUM. 


235 


fully  and  emphatically  decided  by  all  the  Apostles  at  the 
council  of  Jerusalem.13  Some  of  them  were  even  being 
circumcised,  and  were  trying  to  keep  the  law  of  Moses. 

Paul  therefore  wrote  a most  earnest  letter  to  the  Ga- 
latians, in  which  sadness  and  severity  mingle,  the  sad- 
ness of  a warm-hearted  man  who  finds  his  friends  leav- 
ing him,  and  the  severity  of  a faithful  Apostle  who  finds 
his  converts  leaving  the  truth. 

THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  GALATIANS. 

Notice  two  of  the  principal  subjects  in  this  letter : 

I.  Paul  proves  that  he  is  an  Apostle  independent  of 
the  Twelve. 

1.  Because  he  received  his  authority  to  preach  by  re- 
velation from  Jesus  the  Messiah,  (i.  1,  11,  12.) 

2.  Because  he  was  made  an  Apostle  without  consult- 
ing at  all  with  the  other  Apostles.  After  his  conversion 
he  did  not  go  to  Jerusalem  to  be  taught,  but  into  Arabia, 
(i.  15-17.) 

3.  Because  he  saw  only  the  two  Apostles,  James  and 
Peter,  for  fifteen  days,  when  he  was  in  Jerusalem  the 
first  time  after  his  conversion,  and  could  not  therefore 
have  been  made  an  Apostle  by  the  assembly  of  all  the 
other  Apostles,  (i.  18,  19.) 

4.  Because  when  he  went  up  to  the  council  at  Jeru- 
salem, James,  Peter,  and  John  recognized  him  as  the 
Apostle  to  the  Gentiles,  (ii.  1,  7-10.) 

5.  Because  he  himself  by  Apostolical  authority  had 
rebuked  the  Apostle  Peter  at  Antioch,  (ii.  11-14.) 

II.  Paul  shows  that  obedience  to  Jesus  and  faith  in 
him,  and  not  obedience  to  the  law  of  Moses,  is  to  save 
a man.  (iii.  1,  2,  10,  26.)  He  who  goes  back  to  the 
law  of  Moses  is  a slave : he  who  believes  in  Jesus  is  a 
son . (iv.  1-7.) 


s See  Sixteenth  Sunday. 


(: THIRTY-SIXTH  SUNDAY.) 


QUESTIONS. 

CHOW  how  Paul  must  have  been  ten  months  on  the  way 
^ from  Ephesus  to  Corinth,  and  from  Corinth  back  to  Phi- 
lippi. 

How  long,  then,  must  he  have  been  in  Macedonia  and 
Illyricum  ? 

Why  might  Paul  have  delayed  his  visit  to  Corinth  ? 
What  was  there  to  occupy  his  time  so  long  ? 

Why  may  we  suppose  this  is  the  time  when  he  preached 
4 round  about  unto  Illyricum  ’ ? 

What  is  meant  by  4 those  parts  ’ ? 

Show  where  Paul  may  have  gone. 

To  what  country  did  Titus  afterwards  go  ? 

What  shows  that  Corinth  had  been  much  in  his  thoughts  ? 
What  two  especial  reasons  why  he  should  now  press  on 
to  Corinth  ? 

Why  is  it  likely  that  he  now  went  by  land  to  Corinth  ? 
What  opportunities  to  preach  on  the  way  ? 

What  sad  thoughts  would  be  natural  for  Paul  as  he  ap- 
proached Corinth? 

Converts?  friends?  enemies? 

The  penitent  ? the  obstinate  ? 

What  was  he  prepared  to  do  ? 

How  does  this  journey  compare  with  Saul’s  journey  to 
Damascus  ? 

What  happy  thoughts  would  be  natural  also  ? 

Church  ? vision  ? 4 much  people  ’ ? 

The  imperfect  ? the  obstinate  ? the  children  ? 

Of  whom  did  Paul  and  his  friends  think,  when  they  en- 
tered the  streets  ? 

To  whose  house  did  Paul  go  ? 

What  news  did  Paul  probably  receive  at  Corinth  ? 

What  were  these  converts  doing  ? 

To  whom  were  they  listening  ? 

What  did  they  say  about  Paul’s  Apostleship  ? 

What  ‘difficult  question’  was  giving  them  trouble? 

(71) 


{THIRTY- SIXTH  SUNDAY.) 


What  epistle  did  Paul  now  write  ? 

What  two  things  mingle  in  it  ? 

Sadness  of  whom  ? severity  of  whom  ? 

What  is  the  first  of  two  principal  subjects  in  this  Epistle? 
Could  a man  become  an  Apostle  who  was  not  one  of  the 
twelve  Apostles  ? 

Turn  to  the  Epistle  and  show  where  Paul  declares  his 
authority  came  directly  from  the  Saviour. 

What  is  the  second  reason  why  he  was  an  independent  Apos- 
tle ? 

How  does  he  prove  that  he  was  not  made  an  Apostle  by  the 
election  of  all  the  Apostles  ? 

What  is  the  fourth  reason  ? 

What  is  meant  by  * perceived  the  grace  that  was  given 
unto  me  ’ ? 

What  is  meant  by  1 the  right  hand  of  fellowship  ’ ? 
What  is  the  fifth  reason  why  he  is  an  independent  Apostle  ? 
What  is  the  second  of  twTo  principal  subjects  in  this  Epistle  ? 
Is  all  of  the  law  of  Moses  done  away  ? 

# Can  a man  have  faith  in  J esus  who  does  not  keep  the 
Ten  Commandments  ? 

If  a man  lives  a strictly  moral  life,  by  these  laws  of 
Moses,  can  he  not  be  saved  without  faith  ? 

Is  there  any  power  in  faith  itself  to  save  a man  ? 

Is  there  any  power  in  works  to  save  a man  ? 

Why  is  a man  a slave  who  lives'according  to  all  the  law 
of  Moses  ? 

How  is  he  a son  who  lives  by  faith  on  Jesus  ? 

(72) 


^hixty-stbrnty  Snnbmr. 


PHCEBE  CARRIES  A LETTER  TO  ROME. 


LESSOR. 

Acts  xx.  3;  xix.  21.  Romans  i.  8,  11,  13,  15;  xv.  19,  20,  23-20, 
28;  xvi. 

WHEN  the  messenger  who  bore  the  letter  to  the 
Galatians  had  gone,  Paul  resolutely  set  himself  to 
work  to  accomplish  the  objects  for  which  he  came.  It 
has  been  supposed  that  he  established  his  authority  as 
an  Apostle  beyond  all  dispute,  and  to  the  dismay  of 
those  who  denied  it,  by  showing  c the  signs  of  an  Apos- 
tle,’ 1 that  is,  by  working  miracles.  But  it  is  hardly 
necessary  to  suppose  miracles  were  wrought.  Th6  sol- 
emn presence  of  the  Spirit  of  God  could  overpower  all 
opposition,  and  demonstrate  to  the  conviction  even  of 
enemies,  Paul’s  claim,  nay,  his  absolute  duty  to  be  an 
Apostle.  The  wilful  and  stubborn  and  immoral  mem- 
bers of  the  church  were  no  doubt  brought  before  the 
solemn  assembly  of  the  church  for  trial : the  presence 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  and  the  power  of  the  Lord  Jesus, 
were  sought  in  prayer : the  worst  offenders,  those 
whose  open  and  shameless  sins  required  so  heavy  a pun- 
ishment, were  publicly  cast  out  of  the  church,  as  Paul 
had  directed  when  he  wrote  them.3 

Paul  was  three  months  in  Corinth.  The  writing  of 
the  letter  to  the  Galatians,  and  the  discipline  of  im- 
moral church-members,  must  have  consumed  some  lit- 
tle time.  When  these  were  done,  he  visited,  doubt- 


1 II.  Corinth,  xii.  12. 


2 1.  Corinth,  v.  3-5. 


PIICE BE  CARRIES  A LETTER  TO  ROME.  2 37 


less,  the  neighboring  churches.  As  his  letter  from 
Philippi  was  addressed  to  the  Christians  of  Achaia  as 
well  as  of  Corinth,3  it  seems  that  the  churches  through- 
out the  province  had  the  same  faults  as  that  at  Corinth. 
While  therefore  he  went  from  church  to  church,  in  Ar- 
gos, in  Sicyon,  in  Megara,  in  Cenchrsea  or  in  other 
places,  he  encouraged  the  good  and  corrected  the  bad. 
Some  of  the  Corinthian  brethren  went  with  him  perhaps ; 
Gaius,  or  Stephanas,  or  Fortunatus,  on  some  of  these 
excursions.  At  the  same  time,  the  collections  for  the 
Christians  in  Judea  were  gathered  from  these  places. 
Considerable  money  must  have  been  gathered,  for  they 
had  been  laying  by  their  gifts  a year  or  more.4 *  The 
whole  sum  collected  was  now  intrusted  to  Paul,  or  else 
to  certain  persons  appointed,  as  Paul  had  directed,6  to 
carry  their  donation  to  Jerusalem. 

We  suppose  that  it  was  sometime  during  this  three 
months  that  a Christian  lady  of  Cenchrssa  left  Corinth 
to  go  to  Rome.  She  was  a lady  of  position  and  of  some 
wealth,  for  she  was  a patron  or  helper 6 of  many  Christ- 
ians, Paul  among  the  number.  She  was  also  a deaconess 
in  the  church  of  Cenchraea.7  Her  name  was  Phoebe,  and 
she  was  about  to  sail  to  Rome  upon  some  private  busi- 

3 II.  Corinth,  i.  1. 

4 II.  Corinth,  ix.  2 ; I.  Corinth,  xvi.  2. 

6 I.  Corinth,  xvi.  3. 

6 In  Romans  xvi.  2,  the  word  ‘ succorer  ’ means  in  the  Greek,  a 
chief  person,  a patron,  one  who  stands  before  another : when  applied 
to  men,  a front-rank  man.  The  fact  that  she  had  business  at  Rome 
also  shows  that  she  must  have  possessed  some  little  property. 

7 In  Romans  xvi.  1,  the  word  ‘ servant  ’ is  the  same  which  in  other 
places  is  translated  deacon.  It  here  means  deaconess,  an  office  which 
the  separation  of  women  from  men  in  the  East  made  necessary.  The 
deaconess  was  an  experienced  and  respected  woman,  who  had  charge 
of  the  sick  and  poor  women,  as  the  deacons  did  of  the  poor  and  sick 
men. 


238 


(: THIRTY-SEVENTH  SUNDAY.) 


ness.  W e know  Paul  was  intending  to  visit  Rome  in  his 
next  journey.8  We  know  that  he  was  already  acquaint- 
ed with  some  of  the  Christians  of  Rome.  He  therefore 
took  this  opportunity  to  send  a letter  to  these  Roman 
Christians.  Paul  may  have  been  on  one  of  his  visits  to 
Cenchnea,  when  he  delivered  his  letter,  ready  prepared, 
to  Phcebe,  or  Phoebe  may  have  come  over  from  the 
eastern  sea-port  of  Corinth,  Cenchraea,  to  the  western 
sea-port,  Lecheum,  which  was  much  nearer  to  Rome. 
She  then  passed  through  Corinth,  and  took  in  charge 

Paul’s  epistle  to  the  eomaxs.9 

Although  Paul  had  not  been  in,  Rome,  he  had  reason 
to  think  very  highly  of  the  Christians  there.10  The 
church  at  Rome  seems  already  to  have  grown  large  and 
flourishing.  Rome  was  so  constantly  in  communication 
with  all  parts  of  the  empire,  especially  towards  the  east, 
that  it  would  have  been  strange  if  some  believers  had 
not  found  their  way  there.  There  were  c strangers  of 
Rome’  at  Jerusalem  some  years  before,  when  Peter 
preached  at  the  Pentecost.11  Some  of  these  Romans 
may  have  been  among  the  c three  thousand  ’ converts 
that  day,  and  on  their  return  may  have  preached  the 
doctrines  of  Jesus. 

There  is  no  reason  to  suppose  an  Apostle  had  been 
in  Rome.  We  know  Paul  had  not,  and  we  know  too 
that  Paul  was  very  careful  not  to  interfere  unasked 
with  work  which  another  man,  especially  another  Apos- 
tle, had  begun.12  Certainly  Peter  could  not  have  been 
in  Rome  at  this  time,  or  even  before  this,  without  Paul 

8 Acts  xix.  21. 

9 It  is  generally  agreed  that  the  inscription  at  the  end  of  the  Epis- 
tle to  the  Romans  is  correct.  See  it. 

1C  1 Your  faith  is  spoken  of  throughout  the  whole  world.’  Romans 
i.  8. 

11  Acts  ii.  10,  41.  1 Romans  xv.  20. 


PIKE  BE  CARRIES  A LETTER  TO  ROME.  239 


taking  some  notice  of  it  in  this  letter.  Paul  was  too 
earnest  and  too  warm  in  his  feelings  not  to  make  some 
allusion  to  his  fellow- Apostle,  if  he  was  there ; but, 
among  the  many  names  mentioned  in  this  epistle,  the 
name  of  Peter  does  not  once  occur. 

Were  these  Homan  Christians  Jews  or  Gentiles? 
From  many  of  Paul’s  expressions  in  this  letter,  it  seems 
that  the  most  of  them  were  Gentiles.  Yet  as  the  Jews 
were  in  all  large  cities,  and  would  be  in  unusual  num- 
bers in  the  capital  of  the  empire,  and  as  there  are  Jew- 
ish names  among  those  to  whom  Paul  sends  his  greet- 
ing in  Pome,  we  must  suppose  that  there  was  a goodly 
number  of  Jews  also  in  the  Roman  church. 

To  this  church  of  mingled  Jews  and  Greeks  and 
Romans,  Paul  wrote  his  epistle.  Unlike  his  letters  to 
the  Thessalonians,  to  the  Corinthians,  and  to  the  Gala- 
tians, this  letter  to  the  Romans  is  a long  and  careful 
and  learned  discussion  of  the  great  doctrines  of  the  new 
religion  which  Jesus  the  Messiah  had  introduced.  Paul 
had  not  been  in  Rome,  as  he  had  been  in  Galatia,  Thes- 
salonica,  and  Corinth  ; and  therefore  he  was  not  so  well 
acquainted  with  the  Romans  as  he  was  with  the  Gala- 
tians and  Thessalonians  and  Corinthians.  He  himself 
had  not  founded  the  church  in  Rome,  as  he  had  these 
others.  And  for  these  reasons,  the  epistle  has  few  allu- 
sions to  himself,  and  has  less  of  that  warm  aifectionate- 
ness  which  breathes  and  throbs  all  through  these  other 
loving  letters.  Still,  although  he  is  not  acquainted 
with  the  great  majority  of  the  Roman  Christians,  he 
tells  them  that  c he  longs  to  see  them,’  that  c he  had 
often  intended  to  visit  them,  but  had  been  prevented,’ 
that  c he  wanted  to  preach  in  Rome,’  as  well  as  in  Cor- 
inth and  Ephesus. 

He  then  discusses  the  one  great  subject,  in  which 
both  the  Jews  and  Gentiles  of  the  Reman  church  would 


240 


( THIRTY-SEVENTH  SUNDAY.) 


be  deeply  interested  : That  Jews  and  Gentiles  are  both 
equal  in  the  kingdom  of  God,  through  faith  in  Jesus 
the  Messiah  : that  both  are  sinners : both  need  a Sav- 
iour: that  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  the  Messiah,  is  equal- 
ly a Saviour  for  both , if  they  both  have  faith  in  him. 

Near  the  end  of  this  letter,  he  told  them  that  although 
they  were  strangers,  he  had  4 written  boldly,  because 
God  had  made  him  the  Apostle  to  the  Gentiles.’ 13 

And  now  we  see  that  the  great  heart  of  the  Apostle 
was  not  to  be  satisfied  with  making  Rome  the  end  of 
his  next  journey,  but  that  he  had  already  extended  his 
plan  to  the  very  distant  end  of  the  Roman  empire.  His 
plan  now  was,  after  he  had  returned  to  Jerusalem,  to 
make  his  fourth  journey  reach  to  Spain.  And  therefore 
he  promised  to  the  Romans  that  4 when  he  should  take 
his  journey  to  Spain,  he  would  make  them  that  visit 
which  for  many  years  he  had  longed  to  make.’  As  he 
was  just  about  to  start  with  his  collections  for  Jerusa- 
lem, he  said  nothing  to  the  Romans  about  making  col- 
lections. He  probably  hoped  to  teach  them  Christian 
liberality,  as  he  had  the  other  churches,  when  he  should 
make  his  visit. 

And  then,  at  the  end  of  the  epistle,  there  is  a chapter 
of  kind  remembrances  sent  to  his  friends,  which  shows 
that  Paul  was  not  only  the  Christian  Apostle,  but  the 
Christian  gentleman.  How  kindly  he  recommends 
Phoebe,  the  deaconess  of  Cenchnea,  to  their  attention 
and  assistance.  How  affectionately  and  gratefully  he 
sends  his  greetings  to  Priscilla  and  Aquila.  Wherever 
these  good  people  were,  at  Corinth,  at  Ephesus,  or  at 
Rome,14  their  house  was  always  open  for  the  assembly 
of  Christians ; and  once  at  least,  probably  at  Ephesus, 

11  xv.  15,  16. 

14  Acts  xviii.  2,  3 ; I.  Corinth,  xvi.  19  ; Romans  xvi.  3. 


PEGS  BE  CARRIES  A LETTER  TO  ROME.  241 


they  were  willing  to  put  their  own  life  in  danger  to 
pr  *>tect  Paul.  All  the  churches  had  heard  of  Aquila 
and  Priscilla,  and  were  thankful  to  them.  Paul  wished 
to  be  remembered,  too,  to  Epenetus,  one  of  his  first 
converts  in  Achaia,  who  was  now  in  Rome.  The  most 
of  the  other  names  in  the  chapter  are  Greek,  which 
seems  to  show  that  they  were  from  Greece,  and  that 
they  were  converted  in  the  regions  of  Greece.  Some 
of  the  persons  were  Jews,  and  were  kinsmen  of  Paul. 

Other  persons  than  Paul  send  their  good  wishes  to 
the  brethren  of  Rome  : Timothy,  his  youthful  and  faith- 
ful c work-fellow : 5 Lucius,  perhaps  the  very  Lucius  who 
was  at  Antioch  when  he  started  on  his  first  journey : 15 
Jason,  the  very  Jason  of  Thessalonica  it  may  be,  Sosipa- 
ter,  another  kinsman,  (who  was  perhaps  the  same  person 
who  soon  afterwards  went  with  Paul  back  to  Corinth:16) 
Gaius,  the  hospitable  friend  of  the  whole  Church,  and 
at  whose  house  Paul  is  now  writing ; and  Erastus,  the 
Treasurer  of  the  city  of  Corinth.17 

15  Acts  xiii.  1.  See  page  44.  • 

16  xx.  4. 

17  In  Romans  xvi.  23,  the  word  chamberlain  means  in  the  Greek, 
when  applied  to  a household  officer,  a steward , or  overseer : when  ap« 
p.ied  to  a city,  a financial  officer,  a treasurer , 


( THIRTY-SEVENTH  SUNDAY.) 


QUESTIONS. 

TWHAT  did  the  Apostle  resolutely  do  after  the  letter  to  the 
" " Galatians  had  gone  ? 

How  has  it  been  supposed  that  he  established  his  Apos- 
tolic authority  ? 

Is  this  supposition  necessary  ? 

What  was  probably  done  with  wilful,  immoral  church- 
members  ? 

When  had  Paul  directed  this  course  before  ? 

How  long  was  Paul  in  Corinth  ? 

Why  may  we  suppose  other  neighboring  churches  had 
the  same  faults  as  the  Corinthian  church  ? 
Where  were  these  churches  ? 

Who  perhaps  went  with  him  ? 

What  was  gathered  ? 

To  whom  was  it  entrusted  ? 

What  direction  had  Paul  given  in  respect  to  opposing 
such  persons  ? 

Who  left  Cenchraea  about  this  time  ? 

What  shows  she  was  a person  of  position  ? 

What  does  the  word  ‘succorer’  mean? 

What  does  the  fact  that  she  had  business  at  Rome  show  ? 
What  does  the  word  4 servant  ’ mean  ? 

What  was  a 4 deaconess 5 ? 

What  was  Paul  intending  to  do  after  this  journey  ? 

What  did  Paul  send  by  her  ? 

Where  did  Paul  deliver  it  to  her  ? 

How  do  you  know  Paul  thought  highly  of  the  Roman 
Christians  ? 

How  is  it  probable  the  Christians  first  went  to  Rome  ? 
Where  did  4 strangers  of  Rome ’ hear  Peter  preach  ? 

Had  Peter  ever  been  in  Rome  ? 

Why  would  Paul  have  mentioned  him,  if  he  had  been 
there  ? 

What  was  Paul’s  rule  about  preaching  where  another 
Apostle  had  been  ? 

(73) 


& 

(THIRTY-SEVENTII  SUNDAY.) 

Were  the  Roman  Christians  Jews  or  Gentiles? 

How  does  this  Epistle  differ  from  those  Paul  had  written  be- 
fore ? 

What  reason  is  there  for  not  alluding  to  himself  ? 

What  does  he  say  about  wishing  to  see  them  ? 

What  is  the  one  great  subject  of  the  Epistle  ? 

Who  are  equal  ? How  are  they  equal  ? 

W^ho  are  sinners  ? Are  they  equally  sinners  ? 

What  is  a sinner  ? 

What  is  the  Saviour  a Saviour  from  ? 

How  can  we  have  him  for  our  Saviour  ? 

What  is  faith  ? 

What  reason  does  Paul  give  for  writing  boldly  to  strangers  ? 
How  far  does  the  great  Apostle  now  purpose  to  make  his 
next  journey  reach  ? 

After  what  did  he  hope  to  do  this  ? 

What  was  he  going  to  Jerusalem  for  ? 

Why  doesn’t  Paul  speak  of  the  collection  in  this 
Epistle  ? 

What  is  the  last  chapter  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans  ? 

Turn  to  the  chapter,  and  point  out  there  Paul’s  kind  care 
for  Phoebe. 

Point  out  his  attention  to  Priscilla  and  Aquila. 

Where  had  they  perilled  their  life  for  Paul  ? 

In  what  places  have  these  Christians  been  mentioned  be- 
fore ? 

Why  were  the  churches  thankful  to  them  ? 

What  is  meant  by  4 church  in  their  house  * ? 

Point  out  the  name  of  another  convert  of  Paul’s. 

What  does  4 first  fruits  ’ mean  ? 

Of  what  nation  were  the  most  of  these  persons  mention- 
ed in  the  chapter  ? 

Point  out  the  names  of  those  with  Paul  at  Corinth  who  sent 
their  good  wishes  to  their  Roman  brethren. 

Who  perhaps  was  Lucius  ? Jason  ? Sosipater  ? 

At  whose  house  was  Paul  living  ? 

What  does  4 chamberlain  ’ mean  ? 


Sljirtir-tigbtl)  Smxbatr. 


THE  GAMES  AT  THE  ISTHMUS. 


LESSON. 

Acts  xx.  3,  4,  5 ; I.  Corinthians  ix.  24-27 ; Galatians  y.  7 ; Philip- 
pians  iii.  13,  14  ; I.  Thessalonians  ii.  19  ; II.  Timothy  ii.  5,  iv.  6-8  ; 
Hebrews  xii.  1-4. 

ONE  thought  which  very  naturally  arises,  as  we  think 
over  all  that  Paul  had  seen  in  Greece,  is  in  respect 
to  the  Grecian  Festivals.  Did  Paul  see  the  famous 
games  which  have  helped  to  make  Greece  so  celebrat- 
ed ? We  know  that  there  are  many  vivid  figures  of 
speech  in  his  epistles,  which  are  taken  from  the  various 
feats  of  strength  and  of  agility  performed  in  these  places 
of  amusement.  To  be  sure  there  was  the  separate  and 
peculiar  building  for  the  race-course  in  almost  every 
city  which  he  had  visited.  He  had  been  familiar  Avith 
the  phrases  and  customs  of  the  athletic  sports  from  early 
years,  for  at  Tarsus  itself  Avas  the  race-building,  and 
when  a boy,  he  might  have  Avitnessed  the  contests. 
And  especially  at  Ephesus,  these  contests  of  strength 
and  of  speed,  and  the  training  for  them,  were  subjects 
of  absorbing  interest  to  all  the  people.  But  on  the  very 
Isthmus  of  Corinth,  Avhich  he  so  often  trod,  Avas  held 
one  of  the  four  great  festivals  of  Greece.  And  in  Paul’s 
time,  these  c Isthmian  Games  ’ Avere  in  their  most  suc- 
cessful operation.  They  Avere  celebrated  eArery  third 
year,  and  in  the  spring  or  summer.  While,  therefore, 
it  is  not  likely  that  Paul  Avitnessed  +hese  games  during 


THE  GAMES  AT  THE  ISTHMUS.  243 

this  c three  months  ’ of  his  last  visit  to  Corinth,  since  he 
reached  Philippi  by  March,1  yet  it  is  likely,  from  careful 
calculation,  that  the  games  were  celebrated  during  the 
two  years  which  he  spent  in  Corinth  the  first  time.  It 
is  proper,  therefore,  for  us  to  stop  and  look  in  upon  this 
great  national  festival. 

Just  at  the  narrowest  part  of  the  Isthmus  was  a tem- 
ple to  Neptune,  and  near  it  a theatre  and  a race-course. 
These  buildings  were  about  eight  miles  from  Corinth, 
and  Paul  would  pass  the  very  spot,  if  he  went  at  any 
time  by  land  from  Athens  to  Corinth,  or  from  Corinth 
to  Athens.  The  entrance  to  the  temple  was  through 
an  avenue  of  statues  of  the  victors,  and  through  groves 
of  pine-trees,  from  the  leaves  of  which  the  victor’s  chap- 
let was  woven.  The  games  celebrated  near  this  tem- 
ple were  made  sacred  to  Neptune.  The  people  came 
pouring  in  from  all  parts  of  the  country,  to  the  celebra- 
tion. In  early  times,  the  Athenians  were  especially 
honored  at  the  games  ; they  came  across  the  gulf  from 
Athens  in  a sacred  vessel,  and  seats  in  a space  as  large 
as  the  sail  of  their  vessel  were  reserved  for  them.  The 
crowds  of  men  came  not  only  to  see  the  games,  but  to 
buy  and  to  sell,  to  visit,  and  to  learn  of  the  latest  pro- 
ductions in  literature  and  music  and  art.  The  best  way 
to  make  known  a newly-written  book  or  poem,  a paint- 
ing or  a statue,  was  to  read  it  or  exhibit  it  at  these  jubi- 
lant celebrations,  when  people  from  all  Greece  were 
present.  Musical  and  poetical  contests  sometimes  formed 
a part  of  the  games  ; but  the  reading  of  a book  or  ex- 
hibition of  a painting  was  not  a part  of  the  regular  cel- 
ebration. 

Both  the  theatre  and  the  building  for  foot-races  at 
the  Isthmus,  were  built  of  white  marble.  The  building 


1 See  page  230,  note  1. 


244 


( THIRTY-EIGHTH  SUNDAY.) 


for  the  foot-races  was  called  the  Stadium , (a  measure 
of  length,  equal  to  our  furlong,)  because  the  race-course 
in  it  was  just  a stadium  long.  It  was  a long,  open  edi- 
fice, with  a circular  end.  In  the  circular  space  at  the 
end,  the  various  feats  of  wrestling,  boxing,  etc.,  took 


place.  The  race-course  itself  was  straight.  The  marble 
seats  rose  on  each  side.  The  judges  sat  on  one  side, 
opposite  the  goal.  Directly  across  from  them  Avas  the 
priestess’  altar  and  seat.  The  open  space  for  the  racers 
Avas  adorned  Avith  altars  and  statues.  At  the  starting- 
place  Avas  a square  pillar,  with  the  motto,  be  the  best. 
Half-way  down  the  course  Avas  another  square  pillar, 
Avith  the  Avord  hasten.  On  the  square  pillar  Avhich 
was  the  goal,  Avas  the  Avord  turn.  The  runners  turned 
around  the  goal,  Avhen  the  race  Avas  tAvice  or  more 
times  the  length  of  the  stadium. 

The  prize  in  the  foot-race  of  the  stadium  Avas  the 
most  ancient  and  the  most  honorable  of  all  the  prizes  at 
the  games.  In  the  time  of  Paul  it  was  simply  a gar 
land  of  pine  lea\res.  The  simplicity  of  the  reward  Avas 
designed  to  heighten  the  value  of  the  honor. 

The  men  who  entered  their  names  as  competitors  for 
the  prize  Avere  required  to  be  examined,  to  shoAV  they 
Avere  freemen,  that  they  Avere  Greeks  by  birth,  and  that 
they  Avere  not  guilty  of  great  and  infamous  crimes. 


THE  GAMES  AT  THE  ISTHMUS. 


245 


Then  for  ten  months  before  the  day  of  the  race,  they 
were  trained  by  regular  teachers,  who  had  the  care  of 
such  candidates.  Strict  rules  were  enforced  in  respect 
to  food  and  sleep  and  exercise.  The  rules  in  respect 
to  the  manner  of  running  were  also  carefully  taught. 
The  violation  of  any  one  of  these,  forfeited  the  crown. 
No  unfair  pushing  or  pulling  or  other  advantage  was 
allowed  to  be  taken. 

The  games  at  the  Isthmus  were  much  the  same  as  the 
Olympic  games,  and  the  description  of  one  will  answer 
in  general  for  that  of  the  other.  We  must  imagine  the 
whole  Isthmus  alive  with  people,  as  the  day  approached. 
We  must  see  tents  spread  on  the  turf,  beneath  the  clear 
and  sunny  sky  of  Greece.  W e must  see  traffickers  bring- 
ing their  wares  of  all  kinds  to  this  great  fair  ; and  the 
whole  space  around  Neptune’s  temple  and  the  theatre 
and  the  stadium  filled  with  an  eager,  gay,  lively,  and 
witty  people.  The  slow  and  tedious  training  of  the 
candidates  for  the  high  honors  of  the  Isthmian  games, 
is  done.  The  morning  of  the  first  day  has  arrived.  The 
sacrifices  to  Neptune  have  been  performed  : the  athletes 
have  taken  their  solemn  vows  at  the  altar,  that  they  have 
passed  through  the  regular  ten  months’  training,  and 
that  they  will  use  no  unfair  means  in  the  combats.  The 
people  pour  into  the  seats,  filling  tier  above  tier,  till  a 
great  multitude  hover  over  the  narrow  race-course. 
Relations  and  friends  of  the  racers  are  in  the  crowds  : 
shouting  and  laughter  and  a great  hum  of  voices  fill  the 
air : the  judges,  clad  in  their  official  robes,  take  their 
seats.  A herald  steps  forth  into  the  area,  and  the  busy 
hum  of  voices  dies  into  silence,  while  he  makes  pro- 
clamation : ; Let  the  runners  in  the  stadium  advance .’ 
The  runners  enter  and  take  their  places  by  lot.  The 
herald  calls  out  their  names  and  their  country  one  by 
one.  If  any  one  had  taken  the  prize  before,  the  an- 


246 


(: THIRTY-EIGHTH  SUNDAY.) 


liouncement  by  the  herald  is  received  with  the  loudest 
applause.  All  is  silent  again,  while  the  herald  calls  : 
“ Can  any  one  here  present  reproach  these  athletes  with 
having  been  slaves  or  with  leading  an  immoral  life  ? ” 
The^universal  silence  proclaims  them  all  the  noble  free- 
men of  Greece,  and  every  heart  throbs  with  the  sense 
of  the  mere  honor  of  admission  to  the  area  of  the  sta- 
dium. Many  an  eye  of  the  eager  racers  has  fallen  on 
the  motto  of  the  pillar  at  the  starting-line ; many  a high 
resolve  echoes  in  the  heart  the  words,  be  the  best. 
The  hope  of  friends,  the  glory  of  success,  the  garlands 
on  the  ivory  table  in  plain  sight,  the  disgrace  of  defeat, 
the  cheering  cries  of  the  great  multitude,  all  unite  to 
swell  the  high  thought  of  every  man  as  he  is  placed  in 
position.  The  attendants  leave  them : the  herald  puts 
his  trumpet  to  his  mouth.  The  signal  sounds,  and  every 
man  bounds  for  the  goal.  The  crowds  of  spectators 
cheer  and  shout.  Their  cries  of  derision  drive  those 
who  fall  behind  quickly  from  sight,  while  redoubled 
applause  fills  the  air,  as  the  two  or  three  who  are  fore- 
most pass  the  pillar  Hasten.  The  wild  confusion  and 
clamor  cease  for  a moment,  as  the  rival  racers  bound 
past  the  goal  into  the  open  space  beyond ; and  sharp 
and  loud  debate,  mingled  with  the  still  louder  and  re- 
doubled war  of  voices,  almost  overpower  the  blast  of 
the  herald’s  trumpet,  afc  he  proclaims  silence,  and  an- 
nounces from  the  judges  the  name  and  the  city  of  the 
victor. 

Other  and  more  difficult  races  follow  : races  twice  the 
length  of  the  course,  with  the  exciting  turn  at  the  goal: 
then  other  races,  up  to  six  and  twelve  times  across  the 
track.  Some  racers  bear  off  more  than  one  prize,  run- 
ning again  and  again.  Some,  unsuccessful  at  the  first, 
in  the  first  trial  of  the  stadium,  at  last  gain  the  praise 
of  the  multitude,  and  the  honor  of  the  prize.  Other 


THE  GAMES  AT  THE  ISTHMUS. 


247 


gymnastic  feats  of  boxing,  wrestling,  leaping,  quoiting, 
fill  out  the  later  part  of  the  clay. 

The  victor  did  not  receive  his  prizes  till  the  games 
were  all  over ; but  friends  and  relations  crowded  to 
him,  congratulated  and  embraced  him,  “ and  lifting  him 
on  their  shoulders,  held  him  up  to  the  applause  of  the 
spectators,  who  strewed  handfuls  of  flowers  over  him.” 
On  the  last  day  of  the  festival,  the  conquerors  in  all 
the  games  of  foot-racing,  horse  and  chariot-riding,  etc., 
were  summoned  by  proclamation  to  the  place  where 
the  honors  were  awarded.  “ The  victors,  dressed  in 
rich  garments,  bearing  palm  branches  in  their  hands, 
and  almost  intoxicated  with  joy,  proceeded  in  grand 
procession  to  the  theatre,  marching  to  the  sound  ^of 
flutes  and  surrounded  by  an  immense  multitude,  who 
made  the  air  ring  with  their  acclamations.  When  they 
reached  the  theatre,  the  chorus  of  singers  saluted  them 
with  the  ancient  hymn,  composed  by  the  poet  Archilo- 
chus to  exalt  the  glory  of  the  victors,  the  surrounding 
multitude  joining  their  voices  to  those  of  the  musicians. 
Then  the  trumpet  sounded,  the  herald  proclaimed  the 
name  and  country  of  the  victor,  and  the  nature  of  his 
prize,  the  acclamations  of  the  people  within  and  without 
the  building  were  redoubled,  and  flowers  and  garlands 
were  showered  from  all  sides  upon  the  happy  conqueror, 
who  at  this  moment  was  thought  to  have  gained  the 
loftiest  pinnacle  of  human  glory  and  felicity.”  The  vic- 
tors’ names  were  inscribed  in  the  archives  of  the  Isth- 
mian Games  ; and  with  all  the  pomp  of  triumph  they 
were  escorted  by  proud  friends  and  relations  and  neigh- 
bors to  their  native  city. 

Such  were  the  games  to  which  Paul  alluded  in  the 
imagery  of  his  letters.  It  may  be  that  he  mingled  with 
the  busy  crowds  of  the  Isthmus,  and  gathered  a knot 
of  Greeks  around  him  to  hear  of  Jesus.  Whatever  we 


248  ( THIRTY-EIGHTH  8 UN  DA  Y.) 

inav  think  in  respect  to  the  probability  of  Paul’s  at- 
tending games  where  sacrifices  were  offered  to  a heathen 
god,  we  see  plainly  how  Paul  alluded  to  all  parts  of  the 
stadium  contests  : both  to  the  race  and  to  the  boxing,2 3 4 
to  the  herald 3 and  to  th e judge,*  to  the  eager  running 
of  the  racer,5  to  the  rules  of  the  race*  and  to  the  fading 
prize  of  leaves,7  compared  with  the  unfading  crown 
which  Jesus  gives  his  followers. 

During  Paul’s  three  months  in  Corinth,  the  Jews  be- 
gan again  to  persecute  him.  He  had  formed  his  plan 
to  sail  from  Cenchraea,  as  he  did  before,  to  Judea.  As 
soon  as  the  sea  was  safe,  he  was  ready  to  depart.  The 
old  and  bitter  hatred  which  in  other  places  had  put  his 
lifi?  in  peril,  now  rankled  in  the  hearts  of  the  Corinthian 
Jews.  A plot  against  his  life,  when  he  should  embark, 
was  discovered.  “ The  Jews  generally  settled  in  great 
numbers  at  sea-ports,  for  the  sake  of  commerce,  and 
their  occupation  would  give  them  peculiar  influence 
over  the  captains  and  owners  of  merchant-vessels,  in 
one  of  which  Paul  must  have  sailed.  They  might, 
therefore,  form  the  project  of  seizing  or  murdering  him 
at  Cenchnea  with  great  probability  of  success.”  Paul 
therefore  changed  his  plan.  He  determined  to  return 
on  the  route  by  which  he  came.  By  the  time  he  reached 
Philippi,  quite  a little  company"  was  gathered  to  cross 
with  him  into  Asia.  These  may  have  been  the  persons 
appointed  by  the  different  churches  to  carry  their  col- 
lections. Sopater  may  have  joined  him  at.  Berea: 
Aristarchus  and  Secundus,  at  Thessalonica.  Timothy 

2 I.  Corinthians  ix.  26. 

3 In  I.  Corinthians  ix.  27,  the  figure  is  carried  out  in  the  Greek  ag* 
it  is  not  in  our  translation.  The  meaning  of  the  original  is,  * When  I 
have  been  a herald  to  others,  I myself  should  be  rejected.7 

4  II.  Timothy  iv.  8.  6 II.  Timothy  ii.  5. 

6 Philippians  iii.  14.  7 I.  Corinthians  ix.  25. 


TIIE  ISTHMIAN  GAMES . 


249 


had  either  been  with  him  all  the  way  from  Macedonia 
to  Corinth,  or  joined  him  in  Macedonia.  Gaius  and 
Tychicus  and  Trophimus  came  all  the  way  from  Corinth. 
Luke  became  one  of  the  company  at  Philippi,  or  earlier 
in  the  route.  Paul  and  Luke  remained  a little  time  at 
Philippi,  while  the  rest  of  the  company  sailed  for  Troas. 


(THIRTY-EIGHTH  SUNDAY.) 


QUESTIONS. 

WIIAT  striking  figures  of  speech  in  Paul’s  Epistles  ? 

' ' What  peculiar  building  in  almost  every  city  ? 

Why  had  Paul  been  familiar  from  youth  with  theso 
games  ? 

What  was  true  of  Ephesus  ? 

What  one  of  the  great  festivals  was  held  near  Corinth  ? 

How  often  were  they  celebrated  ? 

Did  Paul  see  these  games  during  the  three  months  at 
Corinth  ? Why  ? 

Was  Paul  ever  in  Corinth  at  the  time  of  one  of  these 
celebrations  ? 

’That  buildings  on  the  Isthmus  ? Where  ? 

Did  Paul  ever  pass  them  ? 

Describe  the  entrance  to  the  temple. 

To  whom  were  the  games  consecrated  ? 

How  had  the  Athenians  been  honored  at  the  Isthmian 
games  ? 

What  besides  these  games  did  people  come  to  see  ? 
What  was  the  name  of  the  building  for  foot-races  ? 

Why  was  this  name  given  ? 

What  kind  of  a building  was  it  ? 

Circular  space  ? race-course  ? seats  ? judges  ? pillars  ? 
How  did  the  prize  of  the  foot-race  compare  with  other 
prizes  ? 

What  was  the  prize  ? Why  so  simple  ? 

What  was  first  required  of  men  who  wished  to  become  com- 
petitors ? 

How  long  were  they  required  to  make  preparation  ? 
What  other  strict  rules  ? 

What  rules  on  the  race-course  ? 

What  was  the  appearance  of  the  Isthmus  on  the  morning  of 
the  contest  ? 

What  sacrifices  ? What  vows  ? 

Describe  the  appearance  of  the  stadium . 


( THIRTY-EIGHTH  SUNDAY, .) 


What  was  the  herald’s  proclamation  ? 

When  the  runners  enter,  what  does  the  herald  an- 
nounce ? 

What  is  the  next  proclamation  of  the  herald  ? 

What  effect  has  this  on  the  multitude  ? 

Who  decides  the  race  ? Who  announces  it  ? 

What  besides  the  name  of  the  rider  is  announced? 
What  other  races  and  games  followed  ? 

When  did  the  victor  receive  his  prize  ? 

What  were  the  ceremonies  ? 

In  what  were  the  victors’  names  written  ? 

Who  accompanied  them  home  ? 

Do  you  think  Paul  would  attend  such  games  ? Why  ? 
What  parts  of  the  games  are  referred  to  in  the  passage  from 
I.  Corinthians  ? 

W7hat  is  meant  by  4 is  temperate  in  all  things  ’ ? 

What  is  meant  by  4 corruptible  crown  ’ ? 

What  is  alluded  to  in  4 So  fight  I,’  etc.  ? 

What  does  ‘keep  under  my  body,’  etc.,  mean  ? 

• What  is  meant  by  4 when  I have  preached,’  etc.  ? 

What  is  referred  to  in  the  passage  from  Philippians  ? 

What  in  I.  Thessalonians  ? 

What  in  II.  Timothy  ? 

What  three  things  in  the  eighth  verse  of  the  fourth 
chapter  ? 

What  allusion  in  Hebrews  ? 

What  does  the  4 great  cloud  of  witnesses  ’ refer  to  ? 
What  allusion  to  the  games  may  there  be  in  the  fourth 
verse  ? 

What  did  the  Jews  begin  to  do  again  in  Corinth  ? 

What  had  been  Paul’s  plan  ? 

W7hy  did  he  change  it  ? 

What  would  help  the  Jews  in  their  plans  ? 

Who  composed  Paul’s  company  ? ^ 

Where  did  each  join  him  probably  ? 

Who  remained  at  Philippi  ? 

(76) 


&\nxh)-mnfy  Smiban. 


‘THE  COASTS  OF  ASIA.’ 


LESSOR. 

Acts  xx.  6-16. 

IT  may  be  that  Paul  and  Luke  remained  in  Philippi  to 
keep  the  Jewish  Passover.  A new  and  higher  mean- 
ing was  now  given  to  that  sacred  festival.  The  Lamb, 
the  blood  of  which,  sprinkled  on  the  hearts  of  men,  pre- 
vented the  death-angel  from  destroying  the  soul,  had 
been  slain  for  man’s  redemption.  Jesus  was  the  great 
Passover  for  all  men.  Paul  and  Luke  could  not  fail  to 
think  of  the  comparison  between  the  ancient  Passover 
and  the  new.  They  either  observed  the  Jewish  feast 
of  seven  days,  removing  all  leaven  and  all  impurity 
from  their  houses,  or  they  celebrated  that  simple  and 
solemn  rite  which  our  Saviour  gave  to  his  Church  in 
place  of  the  burdensome  ceremonies  of  the  Hebrew 
Passover  week.  Ho  doubt  the  Philippian  Christians 
with  Paul  and  Luke  gathered  around  the  Lord’s  table 
to  commemorate  the  4 broken  body  ’ and  4 flowing  blood  ’ 
of  the  Lamb  of  Calvary. 

But  there  was  another  Jewish  festival  which  had 
been  made  most  sacred  to  Christians.  It  was  at  the 
Feast  of  Pentecost  that  the  sacred  Spirit  first  descended 
on  the#Christian  Church.  How  hallowed  was  that  day, 
especially  in  Jerusalem  ! With  what  praise,  with  what 
devout  rejoicings  did  the  disciples  of  Jerusalem  cele- 
brate its  annual  return  ! After  the  Passover,  therefore, 


THE  COASTS  OF  ASIA. 


251 


Paul  hastened  on  to  be  in  Jerusalem  at  Pentecost.1  But 
few  and  short  visits  could  be  made  on  the  way,  if  he 
would  reach  the  holy  city  in  seven  weeks.  44  The  voy- 
age seemed  to  begin  unfavorably.”  Two  days  was  suf- 
ficient time  to  sail  from  Neapolis  to  Troas,  with  a fair 
wind,  and  this  was  all  the  time  taken  on  that  first  voy- 
age across  to  Europe,  when  they  passed  the  night  at 
Samothrace.2  But  now  five  days  were  occupied.  A 
calm,  or  a contrary  wind,  must  have  detained  the  ship. 
If  it  was  a contrary  wind,  the  track  of  the  vessel  was 
not  now  4 straight,5  2 but  zig-zag,  from  4 tacking 5 from 
one  point  to  another  for  the  sails  to  catch  the  wind.3 

If  the  44  fragments  of  colossal  masonry  among  the  oak 
trees,  the  huge  columns  of  granite  lying  in  the  har- 
bor,” the  broken  arches  of  a towering  theatre  conspic- 
uous from  the  sea,  if  these  ruins  in  our  day  indicate 
with  any  certainty  what  Troas  was  when  Paul  sailed 
towards  it,  44  we  may  be  certain  that  the  city,  both  on 
the  approach  from  the  water  and  to  those  who  wander- 
ed through  its  streets,  presented  an  appearance  of 
grandeur  and  prosperity.  Like  Corinth,  Ephesus,  or 
Thessalonica,  it  was  a place  where  the  Apostle  must 
have  wished  to  lay  firm  and  strong  the  foundations  of 
the  Gospel.” 

We  have  a description  of  only  one  of  the  seven  days 
which  Paul  spent  in  Troas,  but  that  was  an  important 
day.  And  the  whole  passage  is  a most  important  one, 
because  it  shows  the  observance  of  the  first  day  of  the 
week  as  the  Sabbath  day.  It  gives  us  also  a vivid  pic- 
ture of  an  evening  service.  The  sacred  services  of  the 
day  were  made  doubly  solemn  and  doubly  precious  by 
the  celebration  of  the  holy  communion.  And  in  the 

1 Pentecost,  meaning  fifty,  was  fifty  days — seven  weeks  and  one 
day — from  Passover  day. 

3 Acts  xvi.  11. 


3 See  the  map  on  page  206. 


r 252  {THIRTY-NINTH  SUN  DA  Y.) 

evening  they  came  together  again  with  mingled  feelings 
of  joy  and  of  sadness.  The  vessel  was  to  sail  on  Mon- 
day morning.  “ The  place  was  an  upper  room,  with  a 
recess  or  balcony  projecting  over  the  street  or  court. 
Many  lamps  were  burning  in  the  room  where  the  con- 
gregation was  assembled.  The  place  was  hot  and 
crowded.  With  the  feeling  that  the  next  day  was  the 
day  of  his  departure,  and  that  souls  might  be  lost  by 
delay,  Paul  continued  in  earnest  discourse,  prolonging 
it  even  to  midnight,  when  suddenly  an  accident  occurred 
which  filled  the  assembly  with  alarm,  though  it  was  af- 
terwards changed  into  an  occasion  of  joy  and  thanks- 
giving. A young  listener,  whose  name  was  Eutychus, 
was  overcome  by  exhaustion,  heat,  and  weariness,  and 
sank  into  deep  slumber.  He  was  seated  or  leaning  in 
the  balcony,  and,  falling  down  in  his  sleep,  was  dashed 
on  the  pavement  below,  and  was  taken  up  dead.”  Loud 
outcries  of  terror  and  confusion  followed.  Paul  alone 
seems  to.  be  calm  and  unmoved.  The  power  of  the  great 
Master  was  with  his  disciple.  He  went  down  and 
stretched  himself  upon  the  body,  as  Elisha  did  on  the 
body  of  the  child,4  and  calmly  said : c Do  not  lament ; 
for  his  life  is  in  him.5 

The  interruption  seems  to  have  broken  up  the  regu- 
lar order  of  the  services.  After  the  long  labors  of  the 
day  and  evening,  Paul  took  food  to  strengthen  him. 
Even  then  the  earnest,  warm-hearted  Apostle  was  not 
fully  satisfied.  Till  the  very  breaking  of  the  day,  he 
continued  to  converse  familiarly  with  the  disciples. 
Then  the  congregation  broke  up,  for  it  was  time  to  go 
to  the  ship.  Only  Paul’s  fellow-travellers  went  on 
board.  For  some  reason  Paul  chose  to  walk  across  the 
promontory  to  Assos.  Possibly  he  might  gain  a few 


4 II.  Kings  iv.  34. 


THE  COASTS  OF  ASIA . 


253 


hours  with  the  disciples  at  Troas,  for  the  distance  around 
was  twice  as  far  as  it  was  across  to  Assos.  More  likely 
however,  the  Apostle  preferred  to  be  alone.  Solitude, 
communion  with  his  own  thoughts  and  with  his  Saviour, 
and  prayer,  were  precious  to  him.  “ The  discomfort  of 
a crowded  ship  is  unfavorable  for  devotion ; and  prayer 
and  meditation  are  necessary  for  maintaining  the  reli- 
gious life  even  of  the  Apostle.”  Strength  and  peace 
were  surely  sought  and  obtained  by  him  from  that 
Saviour  who  often  prayed  in  solitude,  as  Paul  pursued 
his  lonely  road  that  day  across  the  neck  of  the  peninsu- 
la. His  walk  was  on  the  Roman  road,  and  therefore 
safe  and  easy.  It  was  “ through  the  oak  woods,  then 
in  full  foliage,  (for  it  was  now  the  opening  spring-time,) 
which  cover  all  that  shore  with  greenness  and  shade.” 
He  made  no  stop  in  Assos.  “We  may  suppose  that 
the  vessel  was  already  hove  to  and  waiting  when  he  ar- 
rived ; or  that  he  saw  it  approaching  from  the  west 
through  the  channel  between  the  island  Lesbos  and  the 
main  shore.  He  went  on  board,  and  the  Greek  sailors 
and  Apostolic  missionaries  continued  their  voyage.  As 
to  Assos  itself,  we  must  conclude,  if  we  compare  the 
description  of  the  ancients  with  present  appearances, 
that  its  aspect  as  seen  from  the  sea  was  magnificent. 
On  a wall  of  rock  rising  out  of  the  water,  was  a sloping 
bank  with  a long  portico  on  it.  Above  this  was  a mag- 
nificent gate,  approached  by  a flight  of  steps.  Higher 
still  was  the  theatre,  which  commanded  a glorious  view 
of  Lesbos  and  the  sea.  The  whole  was  crowned  by  a 
citadel  of  Greek  masonry  on  a cliff  of  granite.  Such 
was  the  view  which  gradually  faded  into  indistinctness 
as  the  vessel  retired  from  the  shore,  and  the  summit  of 
Mount  Ida  rose  in  the  evening  sky.” 

Southward,  across  the  Gulf  of  Adramyttium,  the 
pilot  guides  the  ship  between  the  island  and  the  conti 


254 


(: THIRTY-NINTH  SUNDAY.) 


nent.  On  the  right  the  hold,  high,  mountainous  island 
rises : on  the  left  lies  the  mainland : in  front  is  the 
c beautiful  Mitylene,’  the  chief  city  of  Lesbos.  Here  on 
this  island,  here  in  this  very  city,  lived  the  famous 
poetess  Sappho,  surrounded  by  her  literary  circle.  “ The 
beauty  of  the  capital  of  Sappho’s  island  was  celebrated 
by  the  architects,  poets,  and  philosophers  of  Rome,” 
Here  the  ship  probably  anchored  for  the  night,  protect- 
ed from  wind  and  waiting  for  daylight  before  they  tried 
the  difficult  channel  between  the  southern  end  of  Les- 
bos and  Asia. 

A long  sweep  around  an  irregular  projection  of  land, 
brought  them  sometime  during  Tuesday  abreast  the 
coast  of  Chios.  “ On  one  side  were  the  gigantic  masses 
of  the  mainland : on  the  other  was  the  rich,  fertile 
island,  with  its  gardens'  of  oranges,  citrons,  almonds, 
and  pomegranates,  its  luxuriant  vineyards  and  its  white, 
scattered  houses,  overshadowed  by  evergreens.”  On 
the  next  day,  Wednesday,  the  ship  was  in  scenery  fa- 
miliar to  Paul.  They  were  crossing  the  bay  in  front 
of  Ephesus.  Sails  in  sight  were  set  for  Ephesus,  ves- 
sels were  coming  out  of  the  harbor  of  the  great  and 
busy  city.  If  the  sun  was  in  the  west,  so  that  the  rays 
were  reflected  from  the  city,  the  glittering  columns  of 
Diana’s  temple  may  have  been  in  view.  Paul  thought 
of  his  Christian  converts,  and  yearned  to  see  them,  but 
he  c had  determined  to  sail  by  Ephesus.’  If  he  would 
be  at  Jerusalem  at  Pentecost,  he  must  not  leave  this 
ship.  He  might  not  find  another  which  would  -take 
him  to  Palestine  in  time  for  the  national  festival.  Before 
night,  they  were  close  by  the  side  of  Samos.  Through 
a narrow  pass,  where  the  water  is  shut  in  between  the 
island  and  a high,  long  ridge,  lies  the  course  to  the 
town  of -Samos,  and  directly  opposite,  on  the  coast,  and 
not  more  than  a mile  from  Samos,  is  “ the  anchorage 


THE  COASTS  OF  ASIA. 


255 


of  Trogyllium.”  Here  Paul  might  have  gone  ashore, 
if  he  had  wished  to  visit  Ephesus,  which  was  now  twen- 
ty or  thirty  miles  to  the  northward.  A better  plan 
suggested  itself  to  his  mind.  He  found  the  ship  was 
to  stoj)  some  time  at  the  next  landing-place,  and  that 
]}lace  was  Miletus,  which  was  in  direct  communication 
with  Ephesus.  Though  he  could  not  visit  the  Ephesian 
church  himself,  he  determined  to  send  word  to  some 
of  the  principal  members  to  meet  him  at  Miletus. 

“ The  sail  from  Trogyllium,  with  a fair  wind,  would 
require  but  a little  time.  If  the  vessel  weighed  anchor 
at  daybreak  on  Thursday,  she  would  be  in  harbor  long 
before  noon.  The  message  was  sent  to  Ephesus  imme- 
diately bn  her  arrival ; and  Paul  remained  at  Miletus, 
waiting  for  those  whom  the  Holy  Spirit,  by  his  hands, 
had  made  4 overseers 5 over  the  flc  ck  of  Christ.” 


( THIRTY-NINTH  SUNDAY.) 


QUESTIONS. 

IWHAT  were  4 the  days  of  unleavened  bread  ’ ? Yfliy  so 
" called? 

What  new  meaning  had  been  given  to  it  ? 

Would  Paul  and  Luke  observe  the  Jewish  festival  ? 
Would  they  fail  to  observe  the  Christian  form  of  the 
feast  ? 

Was  our  Lord’s  Supper  celebrated  more  or  less  often 
than  now  in  the  early  Church  ? 

What  other  Jewish  festival  had  been  made  sacred  to  Christ- 
ians ? Why  ? 

What  is  the  meaning  of  the  word  ? 

Why  did  Paul  hasten  on? 

How  long  was  the  voyage  to  Troas  ? 

How  long  had  Paul  been  in  going  from  Troas  to  Philippi 
on  a former  journey  ? 

What  made  the  difference  ? 

Would  the  course  be  4 straight  ’ ? 

How  long  was  Paul  at  Troas  ? 

Which  one  of  these  days  is  described  ? 

What  day  of  the  week,  then,  did  Paul  reach  Troas  ? 
Why  is  this  description  an  important  one  ? 

Was  there  a synagogue  at  Troas  ? 

When  Paul  went  into  the  synagogues  on  4 the  Sabbath,’ 
what  day  was  it  ? 

What  day  did  the  disciples  at  Troas  assemble  ? 

How  came  there  to  be  disciples  in  Troas  ? 

What  is  meant  by  4 to  break  bread’  ? 

Do  you  think  there  was  a second  assembly  in  the  even- 
ing ? 

In  what  place  was  the  meeting  ? 

Why  did  Paul  continue  preaching  so  late  ? 

Are  there  ever  reasons  now  why  preaching  should  some- 
times be  continued  equally  long  ? 

Is  Eutychus  to  be  blamed  for  falling  asleep  ? 

Is  there  any  excuse  in  this  for  sleeping  in  church  ? 

(77) 


(: THIRTY-NINTH.  SUNDAY.) 


Show  how  Eutychus  might  have  fallen  from  an  eastern 
window. 

What  would  this  accident  produce  in  the  audience  ? 
What  was  the  effect  on  Paul  ? 

Whom  was  he  like,  in  falling  on  him  and  embracing 
him  ? 

Was  Eutychus  dead  or  in  a swoon? 

How  do  you  reconcile  4 taken  up  dead,’  and  4 life  is  in 
him  ’ ? 

Did  Paul  go  on  with  the  preaching  ? 

Does  4 had  broken  bread,’  in  the  eleventh  verse,  differ 
from  4 to  break  bread,’  in  the  seventh  verse  ? 
How  long  did  the  conversation  continue  ? What  was  it 
about  ? 

Who  went  aboard  the  ship  ? Why  did  not  Paul  ? 

How  was  it  that  Paul  could  walk  to  Assos  as  soon  as 
the  ship  could  sail  there  ? 

What  day  was  it  whe$  Paul  walked  to  Assos  ? 

How  long  was  Paul  in  Assos  ? 

What  island  was  to  be  seen  from  Assos  ? 

How  did  Assos  appear  from  the  sea  ? 

What  mountain  in  the  north-east  ? 

What  gulf  did  they  cross  ? to  what  island  ? 

What  was  Mitylene  ? What  famous  poetess  had  lived  here  ? 
Who  celebrated  the  praises  of  Mitylene  ? for  what  ? 
Did  the  vessel  stop  here  ? 

How  far  did  they  sail  on  Tuesday  ? 

What  was  on  either  hand  ? 

Where  w as  the  ship  the  next  day  ? 

What  could  be  seen  ? 

Yfhy  did  not  Paul  stop  at  Ephesus  ? 

What  was  Samos  ? Trogyllium  ? 

Where  was  Thursday’s  sail  ? Was  it  all  day? 

What  message  was  sent  ? 

Might  it  have  been  sent  from  Cape  Trogyllium  ? 

(78) 


J'orliefb  Sunimjr. 


THE  ELDERS  OF  EPHESUS. 


LESSOIT. 

Acts  xx.  17-38. 

Vf  ILETUS  was  a more  ancient  town  than  Ephesus.  It 
^ was  famed  for  having  sent  out  many  colonies,  some 
to  the  Euxine  (Black)  Sea,  some  to  Egypt,  some  to  the 
distant  west.  But  it  was  a town  of  far  less  importance 
than  Ephesus;  for  the  immense  quantities  of  earth 
brought  down  by  the  river  Meander  had  filled  up  the 
harbor  and  made  the  city  only  a second-rate  sea-port. 
Here,  however,  the  captain  of  the  ship  remained  on 
business  for  a day  or  two. 

What  gladness  and  joy  was  there  among  the  Christ- 
ians of  Ephesus  when  they  heard  that  Paul  was  at  Mi- 
letus. How  eagerly  they  would  take  the  journey  of  a 
few  miles  to  see  their  old  instructor  and  pastor,  who 
taught  them  at  the  school  of  Tyrannus.  “ The  elders 
of  the  church  must  have  gathered  together  in  all  haste 
to  obey  the  summons,  and  gone  with  eager  steps  out  of 
the  southern  gate  which  leads  to  Miletus.  By  those 
who  travel  on  such  an  errand,  a journey  of  twenty  or 
thirty  miles  over  a good  road  is  not  thought  long  and 
tedious.”  Nor  would  they  think  the  steep  ascent  over 
the  mountain-ridge  nor  even  the  darkness  of  night  as 
any  obstrHe.  “ The  elders  of  Ephesus  might  easily 
reach  Miletus  on  the  day  after  Paul’s  message  was  re- 
ceived.” A modern  traveller  who  went  over  this  same 
mountain-ridge  in  the  same  month  of  April,  had,  no 


THE  ELDERS  OF  EPHESUS. 


257 


doubt,  a similar  journey,  when  he  said : “ The  weather 
was  unsettled  : the  sky  was  blue  and  the  sun  shone,  but 
a wet,  wintry  north  wrind  swept  the  clouds  along  the 
mountain-range.”  From  these  heights  the  country, 
‘ like  a perfect  and  beautiful  map,’  can  be  seen  far  be- 
yond Miletus  and  the  Meander.  Weariness  from  rapid 
journeying  would  soon  be  forgotten  at  the  sight  of 
Paul’s  face.  There  was  Timothy,  too,  and  other  c breth- 
ren ’ more  or  less  known  or  heard  about.  There  at 
Miletus  the  two  parties  mingled : Paul  and  his  band 
of  steadfast  converts,  the  missionary  party;  and  the 
delegation  of  intelligent  Christian  men  from  the  great 
metropolis  of  Asia  Minor.  Going  one  side  to  some 
quiet  spot  on  the  shore,  they  thanked  God  that  they 
were  permitted  to  see  each  other’s  faces  again ; and 
there  — in  some  such  solitary  spot — vre  can  see  the 
Apostle  speaking  earnestly,  in  subdued  and  solemn 
manner,  to  those  to  whom  God  had  given  the  Christ- 
ian oversight  of  the  great  and  wicked  Ephesus.  What 
a “singular  contrast”  did  this  little  party  form  “with 
the  great  crowds  which  used  to  assemble  in  the  im- 
mense theatre  of  Miletus  ! But  that  vast  theatre  is 
now  a silent  ruin,  while  the  words  spoken  by  a common 
traveller  that  day  to  a few  despised  strangers  are  still 
living  to  teach  lessons  for  all  time,  and  to  make  knowrn 
eternal  truths  to  all  who  will  hear  them.  At  the  same 
time  they  reveal  to  us,  as  though  they  were  merely 
human  words,  all  the  tenderness  and  affection  of  Paul, 
the  speaker.” 

ADDRESS  TO  THE  ELDERS  ^LT  MILETUS. 

This  address  is  not  a regular  and  formal  argument, 
like  the  other  addresses  of  the  Apostle  which  we  have 
noticed  on  his  journeys,  but  rather  a simple,  short, 
earnest  exhortation.  It  is  not  an  argument  to  convince 


258 


(. FORTIETH  SUNDAY, ) 


men,  to  lead  them  to  believe  what  they  do  not  believe, 
but  an  appeal  to  men  to  do  faithfully  what  they  already 
are  trying  to  do.  It  is,  therefore,  simply  the  outpour- 
ing of  Paul’s  earnest  heart  in  a short,  urgent,  free  talk 
with  the  responsible  elders  from  Ephesus.  We  are  not, 
therefore,  to  expect  the  regular  divisions  of  a speech. 
We  may,  however,  notice  a natural  division  into  five 
parts : 

I.  His  life  in  Ephesus.  (Verses  18  to  21.)  You 
Jcnow  what  my  life  in  Ephesus  was  for  the  three  years 
during  which  I lived  among  you,  whether  it  enforced 
the  doctrines  of  penitence  and  faith  which  I preached 
or  not. 

II.  His  journey  to  Jerusalem  now  is  with  foreboding 
of  evil.  (Verses  22  to  24.)  Pie  is  going  to  Jerusalem, 
not  free  in  spirit , as  we  would  expect  one  to  go  who 
eagerly  presses  on  to  attend  the  national  Festival,  but 
bound  in  spirit . The  Holy  Spirit  of  God  had  revealed 
that  1 bonds  and  afflictions  ’ were  among  c the  things 5 
which  would  certainly  c befall  him  iliere.’  Not  once  or 
twice,  but  in  every  city  the  Spirit  of  God  plainly  told 
him  these  things,  yet  he  pressed  directly  on  to  Jerusa- 
lem. Nothing  moved  him,  not  the  prospect  of  the  loss 
of  life  itself,  from  the  path  of  duty.  Was  there  ever  a 
more  heroic  courage  ? 

III.  His  duty  to  them  is  done.  (Verses  25  to  27.) 
When  on  my  former  return  to  Jerusalem,  I promised 
to  come  again,  if  God  would  permit.  But  now  I shall 
not  see  you  again.  My  whole  work  for  Ephesus  is 
done.  I am  innocent.  I have  done  it  faithfully.  I 
have  spoken  the  whole  word  of  God  to  you. 

IV.  His  warning.  (Verses  28  to  31.)  You  are  now 
the  overseers  of  the  Ephesian  church.  Feed  it.  Watch 
it.  Greedy,  cruel  men  will  enter  it,  like  wolves  into  a 
sheep-fold.  There  are  even  men  among  you  who  will 


THE  ELDERS  OF  EPHESUS . 


259 


pervert  the  truth  to  make  themselves  a party.  Watch 
without  ceasing.  Remember  my  example.  For  three 
whole  years  I have  watched  and  warned  you  all,  day 
and  night,  and  with  tears. 

V.  His  farewell.  (Verses  32  to  35.)  As  I now  leave 
you,* I commit  you  to  God.  He  is  able  to  build  up 
your  church,  and  to  give  you  all  the  eternal  inheritance. 
Remember  these  words  and  all  my  words.  I have  not 
preached  for  silver  or  gold  or  apparel.  These  very 
hands,  which  you  see,  have  labored  to  support  myself, 
and  indeed  others  also.  And  you  ought  to  labor  also 
to  support  the  helpless.  Remember  again  my  example 
of  unselfish  labor ; and  remember  more  the  words  of 
our  Saviour,  how  He  said : It  is  more  blessed  to  give 
than  to  receive . 

Two  things  are  worthy  of  notice  in  this  address  of 
Paul.  First,  how  much  Paul  speaks  of  himself  in  it ! 
In  every  one  of  these  subjects  on  which  he  spoke,  he 
referred  freely  to  «what  he  himself  had  done  and  was 
about  to  do.  We  must  remember  that  he  was  among 
warm  personal  friends,  and  that  it  was  proper  for  a 
faithful  man  like  Paul  to  refer  to  himself  as  an  example. 
And  yet  notice,  secondly,  how  solemnly  the  word  of 
God  is  made  superior  to  all  his  own  work.  In  every 
subject  of  his  address,  God  is  made  more  prominent 
than  himself.  Does  he  refer  to  his  life  at  Ephesus  ? 
It  was  to  preach  to  Jews  and  Greeks  penitence  and 
faith  towards  Jesus  our  Lord  and  our  Messiah.  Does 
he  speak  of  his  journey  to  Jerusalem  ? It  is  to  say 
that  the  Holy  Ghost  has  revealed  to  him  what  is  to  be- 
fall him  and  to  speak  of  the  ministry  of  Jesus.  Does 
he  speak  of  his  duty  as  ended  ? It  was  his  duty  to 
preach  the  kingdom  of  God.  Does  he  warn  them  ? 
The  Holy  Ghost  has  made  them  overseers.  And  when 
he  bids  them  farewell,  it  is  to  commit  them  to  God, 


260  ( FORTIETH  SUNDAY.) 

and  to  repeat  as  his  last  words  the  words  of  the 
Saviour. 

Paul’s  address  at  Icomum  was  to  Jews : his  address 
at  Athens  was  to  Gentiles  : his  address  at  Miletus  was 
to  Christians . At  Iconium  he  argued  from  the  Hebrew 
Scriptures  : at  Athens  he  argued  from  nature  and  from 
the  truth  which  he  found  in  heathen  altars  and  Greek 
poets : in  Miletus  he  argued  from  the  words  of  Jesus 
and  from  his  own  Apostolic  authority  derived  from 
Jesus.  What  boldness,  what  wisdom,  what  affection, 
what  solemnity  was  there  in  Paul  on  all  these  occa- 
sions ; and  how  does  he  exhibit  all  these  virtues  as  he 
now,  at  Miletus,  leaves  his  missionary  life,  thenceforth 
to  be  more  than  ever  a sufferer  for  his  Master. 

When  Paul’s  warm  and  pungent  address  was  ended, 
one  impulse  prompted  all  to  seek  God’s  blessing  in 
prayer.  What  would  a stranger  have  thought  who 
should  have  seen  that  company  in  that  solitary  place  all 
kneeling  in  prayer  to  an  unseen  God1?  It  was  indeed  to 
an  invisible  but  powerful  God,  who  was  establishing  an 
invisible  and  powerful  kingdom,  that  these  insignificant 
men  prayed — a kingdom  which  was  to  overturn  Diana’s 
temple  at  Ephesus  and  Minerva’s  statue  on  the  Acro- 
polis at  Athens,  to  overpower  the  great  Roman  empire, 
and  at  length  to  triumph  over  all  heathen  authorities  ; 
and  these  kneeling,  praying  men  were  the  mighty  powers 
on  earth  which  were  laying  the  foundations  of  this  king- 
dom under  the  direction  of  their  unseen  King.  “ In  pray- 
ing with  them,  Paul  knelt  down — that  unusual  posture 
being  a token  of  his  fervor  and  of  how  much  he  was 
overcome  by  the  scene.  The  posture  for  prayer  was 
standing,  both  in  the  Jewish  and  in  the  early  Christian 
church.”1  “And  then  followed  an  outbreak  of  natural 


1 Mark  xi.  25. 


THE  ELDERS  OF  EPHESUS . 


261 


grief,  which  even  Christian  faith  and  resignation  were 
not  able  to  restrain.  They  fell  on  the  Apostle’s  neck 
and  clung  to  him  and  kissed  him,  sorrowing  most  be- 
cause of  his  own  foreboding  announcement  hhat  they 
should  never  behold  that  countenance  again  on  which 
they  'had  so  often  gazed  with  reverence  and  love.  But 
no  long  time  could  be  devoted  to  grief.  The  wind  was 
fair,2  and  the  vessel  must  depart.  The  Christian  brethren 
were  torn  from  the  embrace  of  their  friends.”  The 
ship  pulled  off  from  the  shore  and  stood  out  to  sea. 
The  saddened  elders  of  Ephesus  turned  at  length  their 
eyes  from  the  receding  vessel,  and  took  their  slow  and 
melancholy  journey  home. 

2 See  xxi.  1.  1 With  a straight  course:  ’ the  wind  must  have  been 


(. FORTIETH  SUNDAY.) 


QUESTIONS. 

T/HHICH  was  more  ancient,  Miletus  or  Ephesus?  wTliieli  the 
' ' mor<j  important  ? 

What  had  the  river  Meander  to  do  with  Miletus  ? 
Describe  the  journey  from  Ephesus  to  Miletus.  How 
far  was  it  ? 

Who  now  made  up  Paul’s  company  ? 

How  does  this  address  to  the  elders  differ  from  other  ad- 
dresses of  Paul  on  his  journeys  ? 

What  verses  contain  the  first  division  of  this  address  ? 
What  is  the  subject  ? 

What  time  is  meant  by  4 the  first  day  that  I came  into 
Asia  ’ ? 

Had  the  Jews  4 laid  wrait  ’ for  Paul  in  Ephesus  ? 

What  doctrines  had  he  preached  ? 

What  kind  of  life  must  Paul  have  lived  to  have  appealed 
to  their  knowledge  of  it  ? 

What  is  the  second  subject  of  the  address  ? 

What  does  4 bound  in  the  spirit  ’ mean  ? 

What  caused  his  feeling  that  evil  would  come  upon 
him  ? 

How  did  this  certain  information  affect  Paul  ? 

What  is  meant  by  4 finish  my  course  ’ ? 

How  could  Paul  speak  of  finishing  it  with  joy,  when  ho 
expected  evil  ? 

What  is  the  third  subject  of  the  address  ? 

What  one  thing  did  Paul  certainly  know  ? 

How  did  this  farewell  differ  from  his  former  farewell  at 
Ephesus  ? 

What  does  4 take  you  to  record  ’ mean  ? 

What  is  meant  by  4 pure  from  the  blood  ’ ? 

What  does  the  twenty-seventh  verse  mean  ? 

What  is  the  fourth  subject  of  the  address  ? 

' • Who  makes  pastors  or  elders  in  the  church  ? 

Can  a person  be  pastor  or  elder  without  His  appoint- 
% ment  ? 


(79) 


(. FORTIETH  SUNDAY, \) 


Whose  blood  is  ‘ his  own  blood  ’ ? 

Does  this  prove  that  Jesus  is  God? 

What  is  meant  by  ‘ grievous  wolves  ’ ? 

What  are  ‘ perverse  things  ' ? 

What  is  the  last  strong  argument  with  which  Paul  en- 
forces his  warning  ? 

What  is  the  fifth  subject  of  the  address  ? 

What  is  the  meaning  of  ‘commend  to  God’  ? 

How  can  ‘ the  word  ’ ‘ build  up  ’ a person  ? 

Had  Paul  labored  at  common  work  for  himself  alone  ? 
Whose  words  docs  he  quote  ? 

Are  these  words  found  in  the  four  Gospels  ? 

What  two  things  are  especially  to  be  noted  in  this  address  ? 
Why  was  it  proper  for  Paul  to  speak  of  himself  ? 

Show  how,  in  each  division  of  tlfe  address,  God’s  work 
is  made  more  prominent  than  his  own. 

What  three  classes  of  persons  did  Paul  address  in  Iconium, 
Athens,  and  Miletus  ? 

What'three  different  sources  of  argument? 

Give  some  of  the  characteristics  of  this  address. 

What  does  ‘ kneeled  down  ’ show  ? 

What  caused  the  greatest  sorrow  in  parting  ? 

Did  Paul  take  leave  of  his  missionary  life  here  ? 

(80) 


* 


Jfjjrte-frrst  Simbmr. 


THE  THIRD  JOURNEY  HOME. 


LESSON. 

Acts  xxi.  1-16. 

THE  difference  in  the  description  of  the  two  voyages 
of  Paul  from  Ephesus  to  Caesarea  is  so  marked  that 
it  is  worthy  of  our  careful  notice.  The  account  of  the 
voyage  on  Paul’s  second  return  home  passes  quickly 
over  the  whole  distance  between  the  two  cities.  It  is 
simply  said:  ‘And  he  sailed  from  Ephesus.  And 
when  he  had  landed  at  Caesarea.’1  But  in  the  account 
of  the  third  return  to  Palestine,  we  have  mentioned 
every  stage  of  his  voyage.  The  principal  islands,  the 
towns,  the  change  of  ghips,  and  the  incidents  of  the 
journey  are  noticed.  Notice  how  particularly  we  have 
had  Paul’s  journey  described  ever  since  Luke  joined 
Paul  at  Philippi.  It  seems  probable,  therefore,  that 
Luke  described  more  minutely  those  things  wThich  he 
saw  as  an  eye-witness,  just  as  on  the  second  journey  at 
Philippi  we  had  a full  description  of  the  demoniac  slave 
and  of  Paul’s  imprisonment  in  the  jail ; and  when  Paul 
went  on  to  Thessalonica,  leaving  Luke  behind,  there  is 
only  a general  description  given.2 

Paul  and  his  little  company  from  the  deck  of  the  ship 
may  have  watched  the  little  company  of  good  men,  from 
whom  they  had  just  separated,  till  the  vessel  had  with- 

1 xviii.  21,  22. 

2 Compare  chapter  xvi.  12-40  with  xvii.  1-10,  and  see  note  1 
Twenty-second  Sunday. 


THE  THIRD  JOURNEY  HOME. 


263 


drawn  far  from  the  shore  and  was  headed  down  the 
Icarian  Sea.  “ With  a fair  wind  she  could  easily  run 
down  to  Cos  the  same  afternoon.”  The  Avind  must 
have  been  in  their  favor,  for  they  sailed  in  4 a straight 
course.’3  44  With  this  wind  the  vessel  would  make 
her  passage  from  Miletus  to  Cos  in  six  hours,  pass- 
ing the  shores  of  Caria  (see  map  on  page  127)  and 
the  high  summits  of  Mount  Latmus  in  the  interior  on 
the  left,  and  groups  of  small  islands  studding  the  sea 
on  the  right.”  The  rocky  and  barren  island  of  Patinos, 
used  by  the  Roman  government  as  a place  of  banish- 
ment, where  the  Beloved  Disciple  so  soon  afterwards 
saw  his  wonderful  visions,4  would  be  seen  now  and  then 
through  these  smaller  islets.  The  name  of  the  town 
as  Avell  as  of  the  island  itself  to  which  the  vessel  held 
its  course  was  Cos.  44  It  is  described  by  the  ancients  as 
a beautiful  and  well-built  city,  and  surrounded  with  for- 
tifications ; but  its  beauty  had  been  injured  by  an  earth- 
quake.” The  island  was  renowned  for  its  wine,  silks, 
and  beautiful  cotton  : the  city,  for  its  harbor,  sheltered 
from  winds,  and  for  its  medical  school.  Here  was  a 
temple  to  JEsculapius,  the  god  of  healing,  which  was 
4 crowded  with  models,’  so  as  to  become  in  effect  a mu 
seum  of  anatomy.”  Hippocrates,  the  most  celebrated 
physician  of  antiquity,  was  born  here,  and  wrote,  taught, 
and  practised  his  profession  in  his  early  home.  Luke, 
the  physician,5  “who  knew  these  coasts  so  well,  could 
hardly  be  ignorant  of  the  scientific  and  religious  celeb- 
rity of  Cos.”  How  thankful  would  he  be  that  he  was 
not  a victim  to  the  vain  superstitions  with  which  idola- 
trous Greeks  had  filled  the  jwofession  of  medicine. 
Apelles,  too,  the  most  celebrated  painter  of  Greece, 
who  painted  the  portrait  of  Alexander  the  Great,  and 


3 See  note  2 page  131. 


4 Rev.  i.  9. 


6 Col.  iv.  14. 


264 


(. FORTY-FIRST  SUNDAY.) 


whose  most  famous  paintings  were  in  the  temple  of 
HSsculapius  at  Cos,  was  said  to  he  a native  of  the  island. 
Opposite  Cos,  and  on  the  coast  of  Caria,  was  Halicar- 
nassus, where  Herodotus,  4 the  Father  of  History  ’ and 
the  extensive  traveller,  and  Dionysius,  the  literary  critic 
and  historian,  were  born. 

Turning  short  around  the  corner  (^f  this  island,  the 
next  morning  the  long  promontory  of  Cnidus,  which 
looked  so  much  like  an  island,  was  in  sight.6  The  north- 
west winds  blow  steadily  and  with  violence  along  this 
coast  during  the  good  season.  When,  therefore,  they 
passed  the  high  precipice  which  forms  the  end  of  Cnidus, 
they  ran  swiftly  down  to  Rhodes.  The  city  was  at  the 
northern  end  of  the  island.  Situated  at  the  western  end 
of  the  eastern  Mediterranean,  and  at  the  entrance  to 
the  iEgean  Sea,  with  a good  harbor,  it  was  the  natural 
stopping-place  of  very  many  trading  vessels.  The  island 
furnished  “ copious  supplies  of  ship-timber,”  and  the 
city  was  renowned  for  ship-building.  Rhodes  was 
“ famed  in  ancient  times,  and  is  still  celebrated,  for 
its  delightful  climate  and  the  fertility  of  its  soil.  The 
gardens  are  filled  with  delicious  fruit,  every  gale  is 
scented  with  the  most  powerful  fragrance  wafted  from 
groves  of  orange  and  citron-trees,  and  the  number-  „ 
less  aromatic  herbs  exhale  such  a profusion  of  the  rich- 
est odors,  that  the  whole  atmosphere  seems  impregnated 
with  spicy  perfume.”  The  city  itself  “ rose  in  the  midst 
of  its  perfumed  gardens  and  its  amphitheatre  of  hills, 
so  united  and  so  symmetrical  that  it  appeared  like  one 
house.”  Statues  abounded.  The  fragments  of  the  im- 
mense statue  to  the  sun,  which  was  called  c The  Colos- 
sus of  Rhodes,’  and  one  of  the  seven  wonders  of  the 


,J  Paul  sailed  past  Cnidus  afterwards  when  he  went  to  Rome. 
Acts  xxvii.  hi. 


THE  THIRD  JOURNEY  HOME . 


265 


world,  and  which  had  been  shaken  down  and  broken 
to  pieces  by  an  earthquake,  still  lay  on  the  ground  at 
the  entrance  to  the  harbor,7  when  Paul’s  vessel  arrived. 
Beauty  and  luxuriance  were  on  every  side  ; and  through 
the  clear  and  sunny  atmosphere  the  islands  of  the  Arch- 
ipelago and  the  coasts  of  Asia  could  be  seen  for  many 
miles  around.  “ It  was  a proverb,  that  the  sun  shone 
every  day  in  Rhodes.”  “ We  do  not  know  that  Paul 
landed,  like  other  great  conquerors  who  have  visited  the 
city.  It  would  not  be  necessary  even  to  enter  the  har* 
bor,  for  a safe  anchorage  would  be  found  for  the  night 
outside  ; and  the  vessel  which  was  seen  by  the  people 
of  the  city  to  weigh  anchor  in  the  morning  was  pro- 
bably not  distinguished  from  the  other  coasting  craft 
with  which  they  were  daily  familiar.” 

The  course  of  the  ship  was  now  to  the  east,  towards 
the  splendid  scenery  of  Lycia,  which  is  visible  from  the 
heights  of  Rhodes.  In  front  of  them  was  “ a long  line 
of  snowy  summits  on  the  coast,  and  the  sea  between  is 
ruffled  beneath  the  blue  and  brilliant  sky.”  The  point 
towards  which  the  helmsman  now  directs  the  prow  of 
the  ship  is  near  the  further  end  of  these  mountains — 
Patara,  the  harbor  of  Xanthus,  the  chief  city  of  Lycia, 
as  Xeapolis  was  the  harbor  of  Philippi.  Either  the 
vessel  was  to  stop  here,  or  was  to  follow  the  coast  of 
Asia  Minor  eastward.  Whatever  was  its  destination,  it 
was  not  going  immediately  to  Palestine.  Possibly  Paul 
intended  to  sail  in  it  as  far  as  he  could  towards  Judea, 
hoping  to  find  a ship  in  some  one  of  the  ports  at  which 
they  should  stop  bound  directly  for  Csesarea.  If  this 
was  so,  he  may  have  made  inquiry  off  the  harbor  of 
Rhodes  whether  any  ship  was  in  port  bound  directly 

7 So  enormous  was  this  brazen  statue,  that  when  at  length  these 
fragments  were  sold,  it  took  nine  hundred  camels  to  carry  them 
away. 


266 


(. FORTY-FIRST  SUNDAY.) 


for  any  port  of  Judea.  At  any  rate,  he  found  a ship  at 
Patara,  which  was  to  sail  to  Phoenicia.  From  Phoeni- 
cia he  could  reach  Jerusalem  by  land  along  the  road  he 
had  travelled  before,  provided  there  should  be  no  ves- 
sel ready  to  depart  for  Caesarea.  Hastening,  therefore, 
to  be  at  Jerusalem  at  Pentecost,  “ they  went  on  board 
without  delay ; and  it  seems  evident,  from  the  mode  of 
expression,  that  they  sailed  the  very  day  of  their  ar- 
rival. Since  the  voyage  lay  across  the  open  sea,  with 
no  shoals  nor  rocks  to  be  dreaded,  and  since  the  north- 
west winds  often  blow  steadily  over  these  seas  during 
the  spring,  there  could  be-  no  reason  why  the  vessel 
should  not  weigh  anchor  in  the  evening,  and  sail  through 
the  night.  We  think  of  Paul,  therefore,  no  longer  as 
passing  through  narrow  channels  or  coasting  along  in 
the  shadow  of  great  mountains,  but  as  sailing  directly 
on  through  the  midnight  hours,  with  a prosperous 
breeze  filling  the  canvass  and  the  waves  curling  and 
sounding  round  the  bow  of  the  vessel.”  Before  a 
strong  wind,  the  trip  across  to  Tyre  might  have  been 
made  in  two  days.  One  phrase  especially  indicates 
that  the  voyage  was  a quick  one.  It  is  said  that c when 
they  had  discovered  Cyprus,  they  left  it  on  the  left 
hand,’  “ as  if  they  had  hardly  more  than  seen  it  in  the 
distance  on  the  left  hand  in  front , before  they  left  it 
behind  on  the  left  hand.  It  was  probably  towards  even- 
ing of  the  second  day  that  the  highest  mountain  of  Cy- 
prus appeared.  “ There  would  be  snow  on  it  at  that 
season  of  the  year.”  The  next  morning  Paphos  and 
the  whole  island  were  past:  indeed  fast  passing  into  the 
north-west  horizon.  (See  map  on  page  195.)  “ The  first 
land  in  sight  now  would  be  the  high  range  of  Lebanon 
in  Syria,  and  they  would  easily  arrive  at  Tyre  before 
evening.” 

Tyre  from  the  earliest  times  had  been  a place  of  traf 


THE  THIRD  JOURNEY  HOME. 


267 


fic.  Since  Hiram,  King  of  Tyre,  furnished  Solomon 
materials  for  the  Temple,8  it  had  been  a rich,  busy, 
prosperous  city;  but  in  Paul’s  time  the  height  of  its 
prosperity  was  past.  It  still  had  some  manufactures 
and  some  commerce.  The  ship  which  brought  Paul 
stopped  at  Tyre  to  unload  her  cargo.  It  is  not  neces- 
sary at  all  to  suppose  that  her  whole  voyage  had  been 
from  Patara.  She  “ may  have  brought  grain  from  the 
Black  Sea  or  wine  from  the  Archipelago,  with  the  pur- 
pose of  taking  on  at  Tyre  a cargo  of  Phoenician  manu- 
factures.” It  seems  likely  that  the  same  ship  went 
on  to  Ptolemais.  While  the  change  of  cargoes  was 
being  made,  which  required  several  days,  Paul  found 
out  the  Christian  disciples  of  Tyre.  Some  of  the  Ty- 
rian disciples  were  prophets,  and  they  foresaw  the  perils 
of  a visit  by  Paul  to  Jerusalem.  But  they  could  not 
prevent  Paul  from  carrying  out  his  purpose.  He  was 
there  over  one  Sabbath,  and  then,  as  fathers  and  moth- 
ers and  children  affectionately  accompanied  him  to  the 
ship,  he  kneeled  down  as  at  Miletus,  on  the  shore,  and 
prayed  to  God.  The  ship  took  its  course  southward, 
and  after  the  greater  part  of  a day’s  sailing  along  the 
coast,  reached  Ptolemais,  its  destination.  Across  from 
this  city,  on  the  next  point  of  the  coast,  was  Mount 
Carmel,  jutting  out  into  the  sea.  A line  from  Ptole- 
mais to  Cape  Carmel  was  like  the  string  of  a well-bent 
bow,  for  the  sandy  shore  swept -round  from  one  point 
to  the  other  in  a regular  curve.  Here  also  Paul  found 
out  again  c the  brethren 5 and  spent  a day  with  them. 
Another  day’s  travelling  by  land  brought  them  to  Cae- 
sarea. The  journey  all  the  way.  from  Troas  had  been 
accomplished  in  abundant  time  for  him  to  reach  Jerusa- 


8 II.  Sam.  y.  11  and  I.  Kings  v. 


2G8 


(. FORTY-FIRST  SUNDAY.) 


lem  before  Pentecost ; and  therefore  he  had  a few  leisure 
days  in  Caesarea.9 

At  Caesarea  Paul  and  his  company  found  a home  in 
the  Christian  family  of  Philip.  As  Caesarea  is  the  last 
place  in  which  the  Scripture  previously  mentions  Philip,10 
it  is  likely  he  had  his  permanent  residence  here ; and  that 
his  four  daughters,  by  their  superior  devotedness  and  the 
gift  of  the  prophetic  office,  assisted  him  in  his  work.  It 
is  natural  to  think  that  these  inspired  women  foretold 
the  sorrows  to  come  upon  Paul.  Another  prophet  did 
plainly  predict  what  the  sufferings  of  Paul  would  be. 
In  c every  city  m along  the  voyage  the  Holy  Spirit  had 
revealed  to  him  bonds  and  afflictions  awaiting  him.  At 
Tyre,  the  first  place  he  landed  on  the  Syrian  coast,  he 
met  a voice  of  warning.  At  Csesarea,  four  prophets  in 
the  very  house  in  which  he  stays  point  out  the  future 
evil.  And  now  that  same  prophet,  who  many  years 
before  at  Antioch  foretold  the  famine  which  came  to 
pass,12  came  down  from  Jerusalem  and  foretold  chains 

9 From  Passover  to  Pentecost  was,  as  we  have  seen,  (page  251  note 
1,)  seven  weeks  and  a daj.  How  long  was  Paul  on  the  journey  ? 


From  Philippi  to  Troas,  (xx.  6,) 5 days. 

At  Troas, .•  . . 7 “ 

From  Troas  to  Assos  and  to  Mitylene,  (xx.  13,  14,)  . 1 u 

Mitvlcne  to  Chios,  to  Samos,  to  Miletus,  (xx.  15,)  . . 3 “ 

At  Miletus  and  to  Cos,  (about  3 days,)  . . . . 3 “ 

From  Cos  to  Rhodes,  to  Patara,  (xxi.  1,)  . . . 2 “ 

From  Patara  to  Tyre,  . . . . . . . 2 u 

At  Tyre,  (xxi.  4,) 7 “ 

Frcm  Tyre  to  Ptolemais,  and  at  Ptolemais,  (7,)  . . 2 u 

From  Ptolemais  to  Caesarea,  (8,) 1 “ 

33  “ 

Leaving  for  the  ‘ many  days’  (10)  at  Caesarea  and  in  Je- 
rusalem, before  the  day  of  Pentecost,  . . 17 

* 50  “ 

10  Acts  viii.  40.  11  xx.  23.  12  xi.  28. 


THE  THIRD  JOURNEY  HOME. 


269 


and  imprisonment  for  Paul.  By  binding  bis  own  hands 
and  feet,  in  the  manner  of  the  ancient  prophets  13  he 
solemnly  represented  the  imprisonment  of  Paul.  Luke 
and  Trophimus  and  the  disciples  of  Caesarea  were  greatly 
distressed  at  this  sad  prediction,  and  wept  and  besought 
Paul  not  to  go  where  he  would  certainly  be  delivered 
up  to  wicked  men.  But  what  could  ever  daunt  the 
courage  of  Paul  ? He  was  ready  not  only  to  be  im- 
prisoned, but  to  die , for  Jesus’  sake.  When  they  saw 
his  unfaltering  purpose,  and  that  they  caused  him  only 
sorrow,  they  submitted  to  the  Lord’s  will.  Loading 
up  their  baggage,14  they  journeyed  up  to  the  holy  city, 
comforted  with  the  presence  of  one  of  the  disciples  of 
Caesarea  and  of  a disciple  formerly  of  Cyprus,  who  then 
resided  in  Jerusalem — “ who  may  indeed  have  been  one 
of  those  Cyprian  Jews  who  first  made  known  the  Gos- 
pel to  the  Greeks  of  Antioch.”15 

13  Isaiah  xx.  2-4;  Jeremiah  xiii.  1—11. 

14  ‘ Took  up  our  carriages  ’ means  took  up  the  packages  or  bundles 
they  had  to  carry . 

15  Acts  xi.  19.  It  has  been  conjectured  that  Mnason  was  called 
an  ‘ old  disciple  ’ because  he  was  one  of  the  seventy  whoir.  Jesus  sent 
forth.  Luke  x.  1,  1J. 


(. FORTY-FIRST  SUNDAY.) 


QUESTIONS. 

WHAT  different  descriptions  of  Paul’s  second  and  third  voy- 
T ages  home  are  there  ? 

Who  is  with  Paul  on  this  voyage  who  was  not  on  the 
other  ? 

What  other  instance  is  there  of  this  writer’s  minute  de- 
scription of  what  he  himself  saw  ? 

What  is  meant  by  ‘ launched  ’ ? 

Why  must  the  wind  have  been  in  their  favor  ? 

What  famous  island  did  they  pass  on  their  right  ? 

What  was  the  first  island  on  their  course  ? 

What  city  on  this  island  ? Famous  for  what  ? 

What  temple  ? What  physician  born  here  ? 

Why  interesting  to  Luke  ? 

What  painter  born  here  ? What  was  he  famous  for  ? 
What  town  opposite  Cos  ? Famous  for  what  ? 

What  promontory  did  they  pass  the  next  morning  ? 

Where  is  it  mentioned  in  the  Scriptures  ? 

What  winds  prevail  here  ? 

Why  would  the  voyage  be  swift  to  Rhodes  ? 

Where  was  the  city  of  Rhodes  ? 

Why  was  it  the  natural  stopping-place  for  vessels  ? 
What  was  Rhodes  renowned  for  ? 

The  city  ? the  atmosphere  ? the  proverb  ? 

What  was  1 the  Colossus  of  Rhodes  ’ ? 

In  what  direction  was  the  voyage  after  leaving  Rhodes  f 
Towards  what  country.?  To  what  city  ? 

What  was  the  city  ? 

What  was  the  destination  of  the  vessel  ? 

Why  did  Paul  exchange  ships  ? 

Where  was  Phoenicia  ? 

What  change  in  the  voyage  now  ? 

Why  may  we  think  the  passage  to  Tyre  a quick  one  ? 
Was  Tyre  in  Phoenicia  or  in  Syria  ? 

Where  is  Tyre  first  mentioned  in  the  Scriptures  ? 

Was  it  more  prosperous  then  or  in  Paul’s  time? 

Why  did  the  ship  stop  at  Tyre  ? 

(SI) 


(. FORTY-FIRST  SUNDAY.) 


Was  Patara  the  beginning  of  the  ship’s  voyage  ? 

Was  Tyre  the  end  of  her  voyage? 

Can  you  point  out  any  passage  in  the  Acts  which  indicates 
how  there  came  to  be  disciples  in  Tyre  ? 

Did  the  Spirit  command  that  Paul  should  not  go  to  Je- 
rusalem ? 

What  is  the  meaning  of  the  verse  ? 

Who  came  out  of  the  city  to  the  sea-shore  ? 

Where  was  Ptolemais  ? In  what  country  ? 

How  was  the  journey  probably  made  to  Caesarea  ? 

Had  Paul’s  journey  from  Philippi  to  Caesarea  been  made 
in  time  to  reach  the  feast  of  Pentecost  ? 

Can  you  show  it  ? 

Yv7hom  did  Paul  find  at  Caesarea  ? 

Have  we  any  notice  of  this  man  before  ? 

What  is  meant  by  4 Evangelist’  ? 

What  does  4 one  of  the  seven  ’ mean  ? 

Why  is  the  fact  mentioned  that  the  daughters  prophe- 
sied ? 

What  other  prophet  comes  to  Caesarea  ? 

Where  else  is  he  mentioned  ? 

What  did  he  foretell  ? How  ? 

Whom  did  he  resemble  in  doing  this  ? 

What  was  meant  by  4 deliver  him  into  the  hands  of  the 
Gentiles  ’ ? 

Could  this  result  be  avoided  ? 

Who  besides  the  Christians  of  Caesarea  'besought1 
Paul? 

Would  it  have  been  right  for  Paul  not  to  have  gone  to 
Jerusalem  ? 

Was  Paul’s  resolution  mere  wilful  determination? 

What  is  the  proper  manner  in  which  to  meet  unwelcome 
providential  events  ? 

What  does  4 took  up  our  carriages  ’ mean  ? 

Who  went  with  Paul  ? Whom  did  they  bring  ? 

Why  has  it  been  thought  he  was  called  4 an  old  dis- 
ciple ’ ? 

What  significance  in  his  coming  from  Cyprus  ? 

(82) 


$Qxi£-Bm\xb  Sunirag, 


A MOB  IN  JERUSALEM. 


LESSON. 

Acts  xxi.  17-36. 

THE  c brethren’  of  Jerusalem  had  no  doubt  heard  by 
this  time  of  Paul’s  return.  No  sooner,  therefore, 
Avas  Paul  in  Jerusalem,  and  settled  in  the  house  of 
Mnason,  than  he  received  their  glad  Avelcome.  Every- 
Avhere  he  Avent,  he  found  some  Avarm  friends,  Avhose 
attachment  no  opposition  nor  persecution  nor  forebod- 
ing, could  break.  Silas  might  have  been  among  them  : 
possibly  Barnabas  and  Mark,  as  it  Avas  the  time  of 
Pentecost. 

Paul  seems  to  have  had  three  objects  in  mind  in  vis- 
iting Jerusalem  : to  present  the  collections 1 taken  in  the 
Gentile  churches  for  the  poor  Christians  of  Judea , to 
attend  the  Pentecost , and  to  overcome  the  hostile  feeling 
to  him  Avhich  existed  in  the  minds  of  many  of  the 
Christians.  Friendly  as  his  Christian  brethren  Avere, 
there  Avere  still  some  of  them  Avho  Avere  c zealous  of  the 
law,’  and  Avere  far  from  liking  Paul’s  manner  of  preach- 
ing to  the  Gentiles  about  keeping  the  laAV  of  Moses. 
The  old  and  difficult  question2  still  gave  them  trouble 
in  some  of  its  forms.  Indeed,  it  Avas  these  persons, 
and  the  missionaries  Avhich  they  had  sent  out,  Avhom 
Paul  had  found  to  be  making  disturbance  in  the  churches 
of  Galatia3  and  of  Corinth.4  Before  he  Avent  to  Rome, 


1 Sec  chapter  xxiv.  17,  18. 
8 See  Fifteenth  Sunday. 


3 See  page  234. 

4 Sec  page  228. 


A MOB  IN  JERUSALEM. 


271 


he  would  wish,  therefore,  to  have  all  misunderstanding 
and  difficulty  removed  : 44  to  win,  by  the  force  of  Christ- 
ian love  and  forbearance,  the  hearts  of  those  whom  he 
regarded,  in  spite  of  all  their  weaknesses  and  errors,  as 
brethren  in  Christ  Jesus.” 

We  suppose  Paul,  therefore,  to  have  spent  the  even- 
ing of  the  day  on  which  he  arrived  with  his  friends, 
prepared  on  the  next  day  to  meet  the  church  and  to 
show  4 what  God  had  wrought  by  his  ministry.5 

In  the  morning,  the  elders  of  the  church  and  the 
Apostle  James  were  gathered  together.  The*brethren 
who  had  brought  up  the  collection  from  the  Gentile 
churches,  Luke5  and  Trophimus,6  and  whatever  others 
had  continued  on  the  journey  past  Troas  and  Miletus,7 
went  into  the  assembly,  and  4 Paul  with  them.5  It  is 
likely,  therefore,  that  at  this  'meeting  the  charities  of 
the  Gentile  churches  were  presented  to  the  church  at 
Jerusalem,  to  be  distributed  to  the  poor  of  Judea. 

After  the  salutations,  either  by  4 the  kiss  of  peace 5 or 
by  words  of  Christian  courtesy,  or  both,  Paul  told  the 
story  of  his  journey.  He  had  been  gone  about  four 
years,8  since  he  left  Antioch.  He  had  been  on  a long 
and  eventful  journey;  and  every  particular  would  be 
full  of  interest  to  his  hearers.  He  therefore  4 declared 
particularly  what  things  God  had  wrought.5  He  spoke 
of  the  systematic  visitation  of  the  churches  in  Galatia 
and  Phrygia,  of  his  long  and  peaceful  and  profitable 
residence  in  Ephesus,  of  Apollos  and  the  disciples  of 
John,  of  Aquila  and  Priscilla,  and  4 the  church  in  their 

5 ‘ With  us'  verse  18.  6 Terse  29. 

7 In  xx.  4,  it  is  only  said  that  the  seven  brethren  mentioned  ‘ accom- 

panied him  into  Asia.'* 

8 From  Antioch  to  Ephesus,  from  one  to  two  months.  At  Ephesus, 
three  years.  From  Ephesus  to  Corinth  and  back  to  Troas,  ten  months , 
from  Troas  to  Jerusalem,  about  seven  weeks , (fifty  days.) 


272 


{FORTY-SECOND  SUNDAY.) 


house,’  of  the  school  of  Tyrannus,  of  those  who  had  as- 
sisted him  to  preach  the  word  in  the  towns  of  Asia,9  of 
the  seven  sons  of  Sceva  and  the  mighty  triumph  of 
God’s  cause  over  Ephesian  magic-workers,  of  that  other 
great  triumph  over  the  superstitious  worship  of  Diana, 
of  God’s  gracious  protection  through  the  Town  Clerk 
from  the  Ephesian  mob,  of  the  troubles  at  Corinth,  of 
Troas  and  Philippi  and  Illyricum  and  Corinth,  of  his 
letters  and  how  he  had  tried  to  win  back  offenders  and 
punish  the  obstinate,  of  his  care  to  remember  the  poor 
and  the  * collections  they  had  now  brought  back  with 
them,  of  the  miraculous  restoration  of  Eutychus  at 
Troas,  of  the  elders  at  Miletus,  and  of  brethren  at  Tyre, 
and  of  his  prosperous  voyage  and  safe  arrival. 

Great  results  had  been  accomplished.  Especially  in 
the  chief  metropolis  of  Asia  Minor,  a large  and  flourish- 
ing church  had  been  gathered,  and  he  had  assurance 
from  the  elders  whom  he  met  at  Miletus,  as  well  as  from 
the  Divine  Spirit,  that  God  would  be  with  and  bless  his 
people  at  Ephesus. 

“ In  such  a discourse,  Paul  could  scarcely  avoid  touch- 
ing on  subjects  which  would  excite  painful  feelings  and 
arouse  bitter  prejudice  in  many  of  his  audience.  He 
could  hardly  speak  of  Galatia  without  mentioning  the 
attempts  made  there  to  turn  aside  his  converts.  He 
could  not  describe  the  condition  of  Corinth  without 
alluding  to  those  who  came  from  Palestine,  who  had 
introduced  confusion  and  strife  among  the  Christians 
of  that  city.  Yet  he  dwelt,  no  doubt,  so  far  as  he  could, 
on  topics  in  which  all  present  could  agree.” 

Whatever  of  personal  feeling  or  personal  prejudice 
there  was,  the  whole  assembly  could  but  give  devout 
thanks  to  God  and  glorify  him  for  what  he  had  done. 


xix.  10. 


A MOB  IN  JERUSALEM. 


273 


It  was  thought  best,  however,  by  the  assembly,  to  repre- 
sent to  Paul  the  state  of  mind  in  many  of  the  Jewish 
believers  in  Jerusalem  in  respect  to  him,  and  to  devise 
some  means  by  which  no  open  difficulties  should  occur. 
They  told  Paul,  therefore,  that  many  Jewish  believers 
in  the  city  who  were  i zealous  of  the  law,5  believed  that 
he  had  been  teaching  the  Jews  in  foreign  cities  not  to 
circumcise  their  children  nor  to  keep  the  customs  of 
Moses. 

This  was  not  true  in  respect  to  Paul.  He  had  taught 
Gentiles  that  they  need  not  circumcise  their  children, 
nor  keep  the  law  of  Moses,  unless  they  preferred . He 
had  not  said  that  Jews  ought  not  to  circumcise  their 
children.  . They  could  if  they  liked.  Indeed,  he  himself 
had  circumcised  Timothy,  the  son  of  a Jewess.  Yet 
we  can  easily  see  how  sincere  men,  especially  prejudiced 
men,  would  think  Paul  had  been  constantly  teaching 
Jews  not  to  circumcise  their  children  and  not  to  keep 
the  customs  of  Moses.  It  would  be  prudent  to  show 
these  ardent  advocates  of  Moses5  customs,  that  Paul 
was  quite  willing  at  all  appropriate  times  to  do  what 
the  customs  of  Moses  required,  although  he  did  not 
admit  that  he  was  obliged  to  do  it. 

What,  therefore,  is  it  proper  to  do  ? 10  was  the  ques- 
tion of  the  assembly.  “ It  was  of  great  consequence 
not  to  shock  the  prejudices  of  these  brethren  too  rudely, 
lest  they  should  be  tempted  to  make  shipwreck  of  their 
faith  and  renounce  their  Christianity  altogether.  Their 
feelings  would  be  easily  excited  by  any  appeal  to  their 
Hebrew  law.  They  might  easily  be  roused  to  fury 
against  one  whom  they  were  taught  to  regard  as  a 
dcspiser  of  the  law  and  a reviler  of  the  customs  of  their 
forefathers.55 

10  This  must  be  the  meaning  of  ‘ What  is  it,  therefore?* 


274 


{FORTY-SECOND  SUNDAY) 


c What  is  it  proper  to  do  ? It  will  soon  be  known 
that  you  have  conic,’  the  elders  said.  ‘A  multitude 
will  gather.  There  may  be  violent  and  angry  dispute 
and  clamor.  They  may  claim  that  you  have  gone  far 
beyond  the  decree  and  the  letter  of  the  council  in  respect 
to  this  difficult  question.’  A plan  was  suggested  which, 
it  was  thought,  would  take  away  all  ill-feeling,  by  show- 
ing that  Paul  himself  c kept  the  law,’  c walked  orderly,’ 
and  that  these  charges  c were  nothing.’  Four  Jewish 
Christians  were  in  the  city  who  had  a vow 11  according 
to  the  law  of  Moses.  The  time  of  the  vow  would  soon 
expire,  and  then  they  would  offer  the  customary  sacri- 
fices required  by  the  law  of  Moses  from  those  who  take 
vows.  If  Paul  would  purify 11  himself  with,  them,  go 
with  them  to  the  temple,  and  pay  for  them  the  expense 
of  the  sacrifices  offered  at  the  termination  of  the  vow,12 
it  would  be  an  open  denial  of  the  charges  made  against 
him.  By  doing  this,  he  would  be  a sharer  of  their  vow, 
and  would  show,  by  observing  one  of  the  ceremonies 
of  the  law  of  Moses,  that  he  respected  the  law,  and  did 
not  mean  to  treat  it  contemptuously.  And  if  he  should 
do  this,  he  would  not  at  all  show  that  he  wished  Gen- 
tiles to  do  the  same  thing ; for  the  decree  of  the  council 
and  the  letter  which  had  been  sent  to  the  churches,  and 
which  Paul  himself  had  carried  to  the  Gentiles,  had  told 
them  they  were  required  to  c observe  no  such  thing.’ 
Paul,  who  himself  had  taken  a vow  on  his  former  jour- 
ney abroad,13  was  quite  willing  to  do  this,  if  it  would 
be  the  means  of  preventing  outbreak  or  difficulty. 

The  next  day  Paul  took  the  men  and  attended  to  the 

11  See  pages  193,  194. 

12  “In  the  ease  of  poor  Nazarites,  it  was  customary  for  others  to  be 
at  the  expense  of  the  sacrifice  by  which  their  vow  was  terminated, 
who  thus  became  partners  m their  vows.” — Dr.  Kobinson. 

,s  Acts  xviii.  18. 


A MOB  IN  JERUSALEM. 


275 


customary  acts  of  purification  for  himself.  He  then 
went  with  them  to  the  temple  : he  purchased  (as  Paul 
was  not  rich,  the  brethren  no  doubt  helped  him,  or 
money  was  taken  from  the  poor  fund  which  had  been 
established  by  the  collections)  the  animals  for  sacrifice  : 
he  announced  to  the  priest  that  the  time  of  a vow  made 
by  four  of  his  friends  had  come  to  an  end,  and  that  he 
had  purchased  the  animals  for  sacrifice,  and  wished  to 
share  their  voav  with  them  by  waiting  till  the  sacrifice 
was  made  and  their  hair  shorn  and  burned  on  the  altar. 

It  was  towards  the  end  of  a certain  c seven  days 5 that 
the  excitement  occurred  about  Paul.  These  seven  days 
may  have  been  the  period  of  the  vow,  or  the  time  after 
Paul  had  given  notice  that  he  would  pay  the  expense  of 
the  four  men.  At  this  time,  multitudes  of  Jews  from  for- 
eign parts  were  in  town  : worshippers  from  every  land 
thronged  the  temple.  Among  them  were  some  Jews 
from  Asia,  who  had  seen  Paul  at  Ephesus.  They  had 
been  perhaps  among  the  Jews  of  the  synagogue  there, 
from  which  Paul  had  withdrawn  when  he  and  his  dis- 
ciples went  to  the  school  of  Tyrannus  ; and  with  bitter 
hatred  they  had  seen  Paul  building  up  a Christian 
church  'in  Ephesus.  Their  strong  feelings  had  drawn 
them  home  to  the  sacred  festival  and  the  holy  temple  ; 
and  they  “ now  beheld,  where  they  least  expected  to 
find  him,  the  apostate  Israelite,  who  had  opposed  their 
teaching  and  drawn  away  their  converts.  An  oppor 
tunity  of  revenge  had  suddenly  presented  itself.  They 
sprang  upon  their  enemy  and  shouted,  while  they  held 
him  fast : ‘ Men  of  Israel,  help  ! This  is  the  man  that 
teacheth  all  men  everywhere  against  the  people  and  the 
kw  and  this  place.’  ” A crowd  rushed  towards  the 
spot ; and  the  Jews  of  Asia  added  to  the  excitement 
by  crying  out  that  the  man  whom  they  held  fast  had 
brought  Greeks  into  the  holy  temple.  This  was  enough 


276 


(. FORTY-SECOND  SUNDAY.) 


to  make  a Jewish  multitude  frantic  with  anger,  horror 
and  indignation.  The  exciting  and  awful  news  ran 
through  the  city.  The  multitude  was  multiplied.  The 
crowd  rushed  upon  Paul.  They  would  not  shed  his 
blood  in  the  sacred  temple,  but  they  dragged  him  out 
beyond  those  columns  “ on  which  inscriptions  in  Greek 
and  Latin  warned  all  Gentiles  against  going  beyond 
them  on  pain  of  death.”  Pulling  him  down  the  steps 
and  beating  him,  they  were  on  the  very  point  of  killing 
him.  The  Levites  quickly  rolled  together  the  gates  of 
die  temple,  “ lest  the  Holy  Place  should  be  polluted 
with  murder.”  But  before  the  more  malicious  of  the 
Jews  could  get  at  Paul  to  take  his  life,  a company  of 
Roman  soldiers,  commanded  by  the  officer  of  the  gar- 
rison, wheeled  through  the  crowd  and  rescued  him. 
Chaining  him  fast  to  two  soldiers,  and  finding  it  impos- 
sible to  get  any  good  answer  from  the  clamorous  mul- 
titude, the  officer  commanded  him  to  be  taken  up  into 
the  garrison.  Their  strength  was  but  barely  sufficient. 
The  surging  violence  of  the  people  was  so  great  that 
they  carried  their  innocent  prisoner  in  their  arms  up 
the  stairs,  the  maddened  people  shouting  behind:  ‘Away 
with  him  ! away  with  him  ! 5 


( FORTY-SECOND  SUNDAY.) 


QUESTIONS. 


TWHO  were  among  the  disciples  at  Jerusalem  ? 

' * What  were  Paul’s  three  objects  in  visiting  Jerusalem  ? 
Can  you  prove  that  two  of  these  objects  were  his  ? 

Can  you  find  any  proof  in  respect  to  the  third  ? 

Who  did  not  like  Paul’s  manner  of  preaching  ? In  what  re- 
spect ? 


What  question  still  gave  trouble  ? 

Who  were  gathered  to  receive  and  hear  Paul  ? 

Who  probably  presented  the  collections  ? 

How  long  had  Paul  been  gone  ? 

How  did  Paul  ‘declare’  the  story  of  his  journey? 
What  particulars  can  you  mention  ? 

What  was  one  of  the  greatest  results  of  this  journey  T 
Had  not  Paul  preached  in  almost  every  place  to  Jews? 
Why  is  it  then  said,  ‘Among  the’  Gentiles 9 ? 

Whom  did  the  Christians  at  Jerusalem  recognise  as 
causing  all  these  results  ? 

What  painful  feelings  would  be  probably  excited  ? 

What  two  places  especially  would  bring  up  the  difficult 
points  ? 

How  many  Jews  were  there  who  were  sensitive  in  re- 
spect to  the  law  ? 

What  had  they  been  ‘ informed’  in  respect  to  Paul ? 
Was  this  true  ? 

What  had  Paul  taught  ? 

What  had  Paul  himself  done  ? 

What  was  Paul’s  position  in  respect  to  this  question? 
What  is  the  meaning  of  ‘ What  is  it,  therefore  ’ ? 

What  was  it  best  to  avoid  ? 

What  was  likely  to  take  place  ? 

What  plan  was  suggested  ? 

What  is  meant  by  ‘ a vow  ’ ? 

What  is  the  meaning  of  1 purify  thyself  with  them’  f 
Explain  ‘ be  at  charges  with  them.’ 


(FORTY-SECOND  SUNDAY.) 


What  would  4 the  shaving  of  the  head  ’ openly  show  ? 
Would  this  be  a violation  of  the  decree  of  the  council? 
In  which  verse  is  the  decree  of  the  council  referred  to  r 
How  soon  did  Paul  go  with  these  four  men  to  the  temple  ? 
How  might  the  necessa^  animals  have  been  purchased  ? 
Explain  4 signify  the  accomplishment  of  the  dajrs,’  etc. 
What  were  the  4 seven  days  ’ ? 

Who  would  be  in  the  temple  at  this  feast  ? 

What  foreign  Jews  saw  Paul  ? 

From  what  place  were  they  probably  ? 

What  probably  added  to  their  excitement  and  hatred  ? 
What  did  they  now  do  and  say  in  the  temple  ? 

Were  they  in  the  temple  itself,  or  in  one  of  the  courts? 
Why  should  the  words  they  cried  excite  the  people  so 
much  ? 

What  was  the  most  exciting  thing  in  what  they  said  ? 
Had  Trophimus  been  in  the  temple? 

What  courts  of  the  temple  was  Paul  dragged  out  of  ? 

What  inscriptions  were  on  what  columns  ? 

Who  closed  the  doors  ? Why  ? 

Do  you  suppose  all  the  Jews  would  have  taken  Paul’s 
life? 

Would  it  have  .been  right  to  have  taken  his  life,  accord- 
ing to  their  law  ? 

Would  the  mode  have  been  right  ? 

How  was  Paul  rescued  ? 

How  was  he  chained  ? 

Why  was  he  commanded  to  be  carried  off  ? Where  ? 
What  shows  the  power  and  violence  of  the  crowd  ? 

What  other  outcry  was  the  outcry  of  the  multitude 
like? 


(84) 


$mtu4\ixxb  Simbmr. 


THE  ADDRESS  FROM  THE  STAIRS. 


LESSOH, 

Acts  xxi.  37-40 ; xxii.  1-29. 

THE  1 castle,’ 1 or  garrison,  from  which  the  Roman 
soldiers  came,  who  rescued  Paul,  was  the  Fort  An- 
tonia, which  was  close  beside  the  temple,  and  command- 
ed the  temple  as  the  temple  commanded  the  city.  This 
fortification  was  very  large.  “ Within,  it  had  the  ex- 
tent and  appearance  of  a palace,  being  divided  into 
apartments  of  every  kind,  with  galleries  and  baths  and 
broad  halls  or  barracks  for  a thousand  soldiers,  so  that 
it  seemed  like  a city.”  Its  towers  looked  down  on  the 
temple,  and  from  them  the  sentinels  could  see  what  was 
going  on  in  the  various  courts;  and  flights  of  stone  stairs 
led  down  to  the  level  spaces  on  the  sides  of  the  temple, 
so  that  the  soldiers  could  at  any  time  enter  and  prevent 
tumults.  It  was  not  always  filled  with  soldiers,  but  at 
the  time  of  the  festivals  a military  force  was  kept  there 
to  suppress  any  outbreak  against  the  Roman  power. 
Indeed,  at  this  very  time  the  soldiers  of  the  fortress  and 
the  people  of  the  city  were  in  great  excitement  in  con- 
sequence of  an  Egyptian  Jew  “who,  as  a pretended 
prophet,  had  led  off  a vast  number  of  fanatic  followers 
into  .the  wilderness,  to  be  slain  or  captured  by  the 
Roman  troops.” 

1 The  Greek  word  translated  ‘ castle/  means  strictly  an  encamp- 
ment, or  ‘ barracks/ 


278 


(. FORTY-THIRD  SUNDAY.) 


The  Roman  sentinels  on  the  towers  and  the  walls 
had  watched  the  growing  excitement  in  the  courts  of 
the  temple ; and  as  the  multitude  and  the  uproar  in- 
creased, they  sent  word  to  Claudius  Lysias,  the  officer  of 
the  garrison,  that  the  whole  city  was  in  commotion.  It 
might  be  a case  of  uprising  against  the  Roman  govern- 
ment, and  not  a moment  was  to  be  lost.  With  a few 
sturdy  companies  of  soldiers,  under  their  centurions,  he 


rushed  down  the  stairs  into  the  ten^le-area.  As  he 
pushed  directly  forward  to  the  man  who  was  the  centre 
of  all  this  excitement,  the  crowd  gave  way  before  “ the 
flashing  arms  and  disciplined  movements  of  the  Imperial 

2 We  must  remember  the  difference  between  the  temple  and  the 
courts  of  the  temple:  and  also  that  each  court  of  the  temple  was  higher 
than  the  court  outside  of  it,  and  that  the  temple  was  highest  of  all. 
The  tower  at  the  south-east  corner  of  Antonia  overlooked  all:  the  walls 
of  the  fort  overlooked  the  lower  courts.  We  do  not  know  exactly  at 
what  point  in  the  wall  between  Antonia  and  the  temple-area  the  flight 
of  stone  steps  was,  but  the  crowd  of  Jews  were  on  the  marble  pave- 
ment of  the  court  of  the  Gentiles.  They  accused  Paul  of  taking 
Gentiles  past  the  forbidden  boundary  up  into  the  court  of  the  Israel- 
ites. 


THE  ADDRESS  FROM  THE  STAIRS.  279 

soldiers and  Paul  was  borne  off  up  the  stair-way,  out 
of  the  reach  of  the  shouting  crowd. 

Once  out  of  the  reach  of  the  mob,  Paul  was  led  up 
towards  the  fortress.  44  At  this  moment,  the  Apostle, 
with  the  utmost  presence  of  mind,  turned  to  the  com- 
manding officer  who  was  near  him,  and  addressing  him 
in  Greek,  said  respectfully  : 4 May  I speak  with  thee  ? 5 
Claudias  Lysias  was  startled  to  hear  his  prisoner  ad- 
dress him  in  Greek,  and  asked  him  if  he  was  not  the 
Egyptian  ringleader  of  the  late  rebellion.”  Paul’s  calm 
reply  comprised  much  in  its  simple  statement.  He  was 
not  an  Egyptian  Jew,  but  a Jew  of  Tarsus.  He  could 
speak  Greek,  for  Tarsus  was  a city  of  Greek  learning. 
He  was  no  robber  nor  ringleader  of  rebels,  but  a re- 
spectable citizen  of  a distinguished  city.  Therefore  he 
besought  Lysias  to  allow  him  to  speak  to  the  people. 
44  The  request  was  a bold  one,  and  we  are  almost  sur- 
prised that  Lysias  should  have  granted  it ; but  there 
seems  to  have  been  something  in  Paul’s  aspect  and 
manner  which  from  the  first  gained  an  influence  over 
the  mind  of  the  Homan  officer,  and  he  did  not  refuse 
his  consent.  And  now,  in  a moment,  the  whole  scene 
was  changed.”  Paul  turned  about  on  the  stairs,  and 
motioned  with  his  hand  to  the  noisy  crowds  below. 
Something  in  his  appearance,  as  of  a man  accustomed 
to  address  gatherings  of  people,  commanded  their  atten- 
tion. The  turbulent  4 sea  of  heads  ’ became  tranquil, 
and  there  was  4 great  silence.’  We  can  see  Paul’s  out- 
stretched wave  of  his  hand,  as  he  says  : 

“Men,  brethren,  and  fathers,  hear  now  my 

defence  to  you.”  3 

Paul’s  wisdom  and  skill  and  courtesy  are  again  shown 
by  speaking  in  Hebrew.  The  confused  multitude  evi- 


8 The  words  in  italics  in  the  Bible  are  not  in  the  original  Greek. 


280 


(. FORTY-THIRD  SUNDAY.) 


dently  thought  some  vile  Gentile  or  Gentile  Christian 
had  been  dragged  out  of  the  inner  sacred  enclosure  of 
the  temple.  The  sound  of  the  Hebrew  language  half 
disarmed  them.  If  Paul  had  spoken  in  Greek,  the  most 
of  the  people  would  have  understood  him.  “ But  the 
sound  of  the  holy  tongue  in  that  holy  place  fell  like  a 
calm  on  the  troublous  waters.  The  silence  became  uni- 
versal and  breathless  ; and  the  Apostle  proceeded  to 
address  his  countrymen : 

“ I am  myself4  an  Israelite,  born  indeed5  at 
Tarsus  in  Cilicia,  yet5  brought  up  in  this  city, 
and  taught  at  the  feet  of  Gamaliel  in  the  strict- 
est doctrine  of  the  law  of  our  fathers.” 

Paul’s  defence  from  the  stairs. 

Two  charges  had  been  made  against  Paul,  which  had 
caused  the  uproar  : one , that  he  had  everywhere  spoken 
evil  of  the  Jews,  of  their  holy  law,  and  of  their  holy 
temple  ; and  the  second , that  he  had  polluted  the  tem- 
ple by  bringing  Greeks  into  it.  It  was  no  doubt  Paul’s 
purpose  to  answer  fully  both  these  charges.  The  sec- 
ond charge,  we  know,  was  entirely  false.  The  men  in 
the  temple  with  him  were  Jews.  Trophimus  was  not 
in  the  temple,  though  he  had  been  in  the  street  with 
Paul.  Paul  was  not  permitted  to  reach  that  point  of 
his  speech  where  he  could  have  defended  himself  from 
the  second  accusation.  His  address  up  to  the  point 
at  which  it  was  broken  off,  was  in  defence  of  himself 
against  the  first  charge.  He  gives  three  reasons  to 
show  that  he  had  not  spoken  disrespectfully  of  the 
Jews  nor  of  their  holy  law  nor  of  the  temple. 

First.  He  was  himself  a Jew  by  birth  and  by  educa- 

4 ‘ Yerily  ’ is  meant  to  emphasize  I.  I,  verily,  am  : I myself  am. 

8 The  ‘yet’  shows  an  opposite  meaning  in  the  previous  clause, 
4 born  indeed,  yet  brought  up’ 


THE  ADDRESS  FROM  THE  STAIRS. 


281 


tion,  (verse  3.)  He  was  indeed  born  in  a distant  Greek 
city,  bat  was  educated  in  Jerusalem,  by  Gamaliel  him- 
self, and  was  zealous  for  the  law. 

Secondly.  There  was  nothing  in  his  conversion  which 
showed  any  disrespect  to  the  law  or  to  the  temple, 
(verses  4 to  16.)  He  had  indeed  been  converted  from 
an  enemy  of  Jesus  and  of  this  sect  of  Christians,  to  a 
preacher  of  the  Messiahship  of  Jesus,  but  he  had,  dur- 
ing his  conversion,  honored  both  the  law  and  the  tem- 
ple. 1.  For  the  high-priest  and  the  elders  could  bear 
witness  that  he  persecuted  these  Christians  because  he 
thought  they  were  violating  the  law,  and  that  he  went 
to  Damascus  to  imprison  them.  There  was  no  disre- 
spect to  the  law  in  this,  but  eagerness  to  obey  it.  2.  On 
the  road  to  Damascus  he  had  been  miraculously  struck 
blind,  by  the  glorious  appearance  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth, 
and  from  that  time  he  knew  that  Jesus  was  the  Mes- 
siah ; but  in  all  that  was  said  and  done,  there  was  noth- 
ing against  the  law  or  the  temple.  3.  In  Damascus, 
a man  who  reverenced  the  law  had  miraculously  restored 
him  to  sight  and  baptized  him  in  the  name  of  Jesus, 
telling  him  that  he  was  to  bear  testimony  of  what  he 
had  seen  and  heard  to  all  men. 

Thirdly.  When  he  came  back  to  Jerusalem  and  was 
praying  in  the  temple , he  had  a vision,  in  which  Jesus 
appeared  to  him  and  directed  him  to  hasten  away  from 
Jerusalem  to  avoid  being  killed.  (Verses  17  to  21.)  He 
himself  had  wished  to  remain  and  to  convince  those  who 
knew  how  bitter  a persecutor  he  had  been,  that  this 
Jesus  was  the  Messiah  predicted  in  the  law,  but  the 
voice  in  the  temple  had  told  him  that • his  testimony 
would  not  be  received  by  his  acquaintances  and  friends, 
and  had  said  : c Depart,  I will  send  thee  far  hence  unto 
the  Gentiles.’  * 

“ Up  to  this  point,  Paul  had  riveted  their  attention.” 


282 


FORTY-THIRD  SUNDAY.) 


Many  of  them  knew  that  he  spoke  the  truth  in  respect 
to  his  early  life  and  his  persecution.  “ Even  when  he 
told  them  of  his  miraculous  conversion,  of  Ananias,  and 
of  his  vision  in  the  temple,  they  listened  still.”  What 
a solemn  stillness  there  must  have  been  when  he  ac- 
cused himself  of  the  murder  of  Stephen  ! But  when 
the  word  c Gentiles 5 was  spoken,  “ one  outburst  of  fran- 
tic indignation  rose  from  the  temple-area  and  silenced 
the  speaker  on  the  stairs.  Their  national  pride  bore 
down  every  argument  which  could  influence  their  rea- 
son or  their  reverence.  They  could  not  bear  the  thought 
of  uncircumcised  heathen  being  made  equal  to  the  sons 
of  Abraham.  They  cried  out  that  such  a wretch  ought 
not  to  pollute  the  earth  with  his  presence,  that  it  was  a 
shame  to  have  preserved  his  life  ; and  in  their  rage  they 
tossed  off  their  outer  garments  and  threw  up  dust  into 
the  air  with  frantic  violence.” 

If  Paul  had  been  permitted  to  go  on  with  his  de- 
fence, he  would  no  doubt  have  tried  to  show,  fourthly , 
that  since  he  had  been  a preacher  to  the  Gentiles,  he 
had  said  nothing  evil  of  the  Jews  or  the  law  or  the  tem- 
ple to  the  Gentiles  : that  the  law  and  the  prophecies 
themselves  were  being  fulfilled  by  the  conversion  of 
the  Gentiles : that  Jesus  himself  was  the  Messiah  ac- 
cording to  the  law  and  the  prophets  and  according  to 
the  very  ceremonies  of  the  temple.  And  then  he 
would  .have  shown,  no  doubt,  fifthly , that  he  had  not 
taken  any  Greeks  into  the  temple  : that  the  charge  of 
pollution  was  altogether  a mistake.  But  the  outcry  of 
the  people  prevented  him  from  answering  farther. 

Lysias,  the  .Roman  officer,  seems  not  to  have  under- 
stood Paul’s  Hebrew  speech.  When  he  saw  the  people 
suddenly  break  out  into  such  imprecations  and  violent- 
actions,  “ he  concluded  his  prisoner  must  be  guilty  of 
some  enormous  crime.  He  ordered  him,  therefore,  to 


• THE  ADDRESS  FROM  THE  STAIRS. 


283 


be  taken  immediately  from  the  stairs  into  the  barracks,” 
and  to  be  scourged  till  he  confessed  his  guilt.  The 
centurion  proceeded  to  have  Paul  4 stretched  out,5  and 
bound  like  a criminal,  4 to  receive  the  lashes.5  The  rude 
Roman  soldiers  would  not  be  very  tender  in  their  cruel 
work.  Paul  had,  however,  an  abundant  protection.  A 
few  simple  words  were  like  magic.  He  simply  said  to 
the  centurion : 44  Is  it  lawful  for  you  to  put  to  the 
scourge  a Roman  citizen,  uncondemned  ? 55  The  centu- 
rion ordered  the  soldiers  to  stop : he  went  to  Lysias 
and  said  significantly : 44  Take  heed  what  thou  doest, 
for  this  man  is  a Roman  citizen.55  44  Lysias  was  both 
astonished  and  alarmed.  He  knew  that  no  man  would 
dare  to  assume  the  right  of  citizenship  if  it  did  not 
really  belong  to  him,  and  he  hastened  to  his  prisoner.55 
He  found  that  Paul  was  not  only  a Roman  citizen,  but 
a more  honorable  citizen  than  himself ; 44  for  while 
Claudias  Lysias  had  purchased  the  right  for  4 a great 
sum,5  Paul  was  4 free  born.5  55  6 Paul  was  instantly  re- 
leased ; and  the  commanding  officer  of  Fort  Antonia, 
like  the  magistrates  of  Philippi,  was  4 afraid  5 of  the 
innocent,  unthreatening  Apostle, 4 because  he  had  bound 
him.5 

6 See  page  5. 


(. FORTY-THIRD  SUNDAY.) 


QUESTIONS. 

XYT HAT  is  the  meaning  of  the  word  4 castle’  ? 

' ’ What  4 castle  ’ was  this  ? 

Its  size  ? its  towers  ? its  garrison  ? 

What  excitement  about  this  time  among  soldiers  and 
citizens  ? 

How  had  news  of  the  disturbance  probably  been  brought 
to  the  chief  captain  ? 

Was  his  object,  in  sending  soldiers,  to  rescue  Paul? 
What  is  the  difference  between  the  temple  and  the  courts  of 
the  temple  ? 

How  was  the  fortress  situated,  with  reference  to  the 
temple-courts  ? 

In  what  court  was  the  multitude  ? 

# 

What  did  they  accuse  Paul  of  ? 

Had  not  Paul  been  led  all  the  way  from  the  temple-court  ? 
What  did  Paul  now  say  ? 

Why  may  we  suppose  he  spoke  in  Greek  ? 

What  shows  the  chief  captain  was  surprised  ? 

Could  not  Egyptians  speak  Greek  ? 

Did  not  Lysias  know  that  Paul  was  a Jew  ? 

What  Egyptian  did  the  4 chief  captain  ’ refer  to  ? 

Show  what  points  are  comprised  in  Paul’s  reply. 

Why  did  the  noisy  multitude  grow  quiet  so  soon  ? 

Do  you  think  many  in  the  multitude  knew  Paul  ? 

What  \\ere  the  first  words  Paul  said  ? 

Why  are  words  put  in  italics  in  our  translation  of  the 
Bible  ? 

Would  the  multitude  have  understood  Greek? 

Why  did  Paul  speak  in  Hebrew  ? 

What  is  the  force  of  4 verily  ’ ? 

What  is  the  force  of  4 yet  ’ ? 

What  two  charges  had  been  made  against  Paul  (xxi.  28)  ? 

Did  Paul  answer  both  of  these  charges  ? Why  ? 

How  many  reasons  did  he  give  against  the  first  charge  ? 
What  is  the  first  reason  ? In  what  verse  ? 

(85) 


( FORTY-THIRD  SUNDAY.) 


What  is  the  second  reason  ? In  what  verses  ? 

What  is  the  first  point  in  this  reason  ? 

How  had  he  honored  the  law  in  this  ? 

What  is  the  second  point  in  this  reason  ? 

How  does  this  bear  on  the  general  argument  ? 

What  is  the  third  point  in  this  reason  ? 

What  was  there  especially  in  the  character  of  Ananias 
which  should  have  led  Paul  to  obey  him  ? 

What  did  the  miracle  show  in  respect  to  Ananias’s  mes- 
sage ? 

What  is  the  third  reason  ? In  what  verses  ? 

What  does  4 prayed  in  the  temple  ’ show  ? 

Why  did  Paul  wish  to  remain  ? 

Why  was  he  sent  away  ? 

What  were  the  words  of  the  divine  direction  to  Paul  ? 
What  points  in  Paul’s  address  had  especially  kept  the  at- 
tention of  the  people  ? 

What  words  made  the  outcry  against  him  ? 

Why  did  they  ‘cast  off  their  clothes’  and  throw  up 
dust  ? 

What  fourth  and  fifth  reasons  was  Paul  intending  doubtless 
to  give  ? 

Why  would  Lysias  think  Paul  guilty  of  great  crime  ? 

Why  did  he  order  him  to  be  scourge!? 

What  protection  had  Paul  ? 

What  was  the  difference  between  the  Roman  citizenship 
of  Lysias  and  of  Paul  ? 

What  does  1 examined  him  ’ mean  ? 

What  did  Lysias  fear  ? 

(86) 


^mln-fourlfj  Smttran. 


PAUL  A PRISONER  BEFORE  THE  SANHEDRIM. 


LESSON. 

Acts  xxii.  30;  xxiii.  1-24. 

fPHE  most  natural  way  now  for  Lysias  to  find  out 
^ Paul’s  crime  was  to  bring  him  down  to  the  regular 
Jewish  court.  He  called  together,  therefore,  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Jewish  Sanhedrim  and  the  chief  priests ; 
and  then  he  brought  Paul  down  the  stone  stairway,, 
no  doubt  with  an  escort  of  soldiers  for  his  safe-keeping, 
and  c set  him  before  them.’ 

“ Only  a narrow  space  of  the  Great  Temple  court 
was  between  the  steps  which  led  down  from  the  tower 
of  Antonia  and  those  which  led  up  to  the  hall  Gazith, 
the  Sanhedrim’s  accustomed  place  of  meeting.  If  that 
hall  was  used  on  this  occasion,  no  heathen  soldiers 
would  be  allowed  to  enter  it ; for  it  was  within  the  ba- 
lustrade which  separated  the  sanctuary  from  the  court. 
But  the  fear  of  pollution  would  keep  the  Apostle’s  life 
safe  within  that  enclosure.  There  is  good  reason,  how- 
ever, for  believing  that  the  Sanhedrim  met  at  that  period 
in  a place  less  sacred,  to  which  the  soldiers  would  be 
admitted.”  The  scene  is  no  longer  Roman,  but  Jewish. 
What  a change  had  twenty-five1  years  wrought ! Then 

1 Fourteen  years  after  his  conversion  Paul  came  with  alms  to  Jeru- 
salem; (see  page  41 ;)  his  first  journey  occupied  a year  at  least ; his 
second  journey  occupied  about  two  and  a half  years  ; his  third  jourg 
ney  about  four  years;  and  the  different  times  at  Antioch  (xii.  25  and 
xiii.  1-2 ; xiv.  2S  ; xv.  35,  36  ; xviii.  22,  23)  must  have  amounted  to 
as  much  as  three  and  a half  years. 


PAUL  A PRISONER. 


285 


Stephen  stood  before  the  Sanhedrim,  and  Paul  was  one 
who  gave  his  4 vote.’  Now  Paul  was  a prisoner  before 
the  same  council.  On  the  seats  he  may  have  seen  some 
yf  the  very  persons  who  then  heard  Stephen’s  speech. 
Some  of  the  elders  may  have  been  his  fellow-disciples 
at  the  school  of  Gamaliel.  Some  of  them  may  have 
been  with  him  in  his  mad  persecutions  of  the  sect  of 
Christians.  They  well  knew  the  truth  of  his  speech  on 
the  yesterday.  But  no  consciousness  of  guilt  now 
flushed  the  cheek  of  Paul.  The  blood  of  Jesus  had 
cleansed  away  all  which  he  had  long  ago  acknowledged 
to  be  the  vilest  of  crimes.  Now,  undaunted,  he  could 
look  earnestly  and  steadily  around  on  the  council.  Paul 
spoke  the  first  words  : 44  Men  and  brethren,  I have  al- 
ways lived  a conscientious  life  before  God  up  to  this 
very  day.”  44  That  unflinching  look  and  those  confident 
words  so  enraged  the  high-priest  that  he  commanded 
those  near  Paul  to  strike  him  on  the  mouth.  This 
brutal  insult  roused  the  Apostle’s  feelings,  and  he  ex- 
claimed : 44  God  shall  smite  thee,  thou  whited  wall : sit- 
test  thou  to  judge  me  according  to  the  law  and  then, 
in  defiance  of  the  law,  dost  thou  command  me  to  be 
struck  ? ” These  words  may  have  been  an  indignant  as 
sertion  of  his  rights,  or  Paul  may  have  uttered  44  a pro- 
phetic denunciation.”  If  they  were  a prophecy,  they 
were  terribly  fulfilled,  when  afterwards  assassins,  in  the 
J ewish  war,  set  fire  to  this  same  high-priest’s  house, 
drove  him  out  of  it,  and,  finding  him  in  an  aqueduct, 
caught  him  and  murdered  him.  The  members  of  the 
Sanhedrim  44  treated  Paul’s  words  as  profane  and  rebel- 
lious.” 4Revilest  thou  God’s  high-priest?’  was  now 
their  indignant  exclamation.  Paul’s  reply  was,  with  all 
becoming  submission  to  that  very  law  they  had  accused 
him  of  violating,  that  he  did  not  consider  that  Ananias 
was  high-priest,  or  he  would  not  have  violated  a well- 


286 


(FORTY-FOURTH  SUNDAY.) 


known  law.  Precisely  what  Paul  meant,  it  is  difficult 
for  us  to  say,2  but  it  seems  likely  that  he  meant  that  he 
could  not  consider  Ananias,  who  had  done  such  an  un- 
just and  improper  thing  for  a high-priest,  really  to  be 
the  regular  high-priest,  though  he  occupied  the  posi- 
tion. 

This  act  of  cruel  injustice  showed  Paul  that  he  would 
have  no  fair  trial  by  the  Sanhedrim : that  they  were 
ready  to  condemn  him,  whatever  he  might  say.  See- 
ing, then,  that  the  council  was  composed  both  of  Phari- 
sees and  of  Sadducees,  and  knowing  that  the  two  par- 
ties were  more  bitter  against  each  other  than  they  were 
even  against  him,  and  that  the  Pharisees  did  agree  with 
himself  in  the  great  doctrine  of  the  Scriptures  on  which 
the  Messiahship  of  Jesus  was  founded,  he  wisely  deter- 
mined to  rid  himself  out  of  the  hands  of  these  wicked 
men  by  the  division  of  the  council.  Pie  therefore  de- 
clared himself  to  be  a Pharisee,  and  said  that  he  was 
really  persecuted  because  he  so  earnestly  advocated  the 
great  doctrine  of  the  Pharisees — the  resurrection  of  the 
dead.  We  know  that  this  was  one  strong  argument 
which  Paul  had  used  in  proving  Jesus  of  Nazareth  to 
be  the  Messiah,3  and  that  wdien  he  wrote  his  first  letter 
to  the  Corinthians,  he  occupied  no  small  space  in  prov- 
ing the  resurrection  of  the  dead.4 * * * 8  It  was  probably 
well  known  that  Paul  everywhere  made  much  of  this 

2 Five  different  meanings  have  been  given  to  these  words.  (1.) 

Paul  confessed  that  he  bad  spoken  without  reflection  : ‘ I did  not  con- 

sider, when  I spoke,  that  lie  was  high-priest/  (2.)  Paul  spoke  ironically : 

1 Pardon  me,  brethren.  It  did  not  occur  to  me  that  a man  who  could 

do  this  thing  could  be  God’s  high- priest.’  (3.)  Paul  did  not  know  the 
fact  that  Ananias  was  high-priest.  (4.)  Paul’s  eyesight  was  poor,  anjl 
he  made  a mistake.  (5.)  Paul  did  not  acknowledge  any  one  but 

Jesus  to  be  high-priest. 

8 See  page  69. 


4 I.  Corinth,  xv. 


PAUL  A PRISONER. 


281 


argument  of  tlie  resurrection  of  Jesus,  to  prove  that 
Jesus  was  the  Messiah.  The  Sadducees  would  hate  him 
the  more  for  that.  When  Paul  was  arraigned  for  his 
teaching,  the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection  was  c called  in 
question.’  He  might  rightly,  therefore,  put  himself 
with  the  Pharisees,  and  say  that  they  had  a common 
doctrine  at  stake.  Instantly  there  was  a division  and  a 
dissension.  The  rival  parties  lost  sight  of  Paul  in  their 
bitterness  against  eacdi  other.  At  length  the  Scribes 
on  the  Pharisees’  side  said  they  had  no  fault  to  find  with 
Paul : that  if  he  really  had  seen  a vision  in  the  Temple, 
or  had  heard  a voice  from  God — if  a spirit  or  angel  had 
spoken  to  him — they  ought  not  to  fight  against  God. 
And  now  the  judgment-hall  was  filled  with  contention 
and  violence  ; “ and  soon  Claudius  Lysias  received  word 
of  what  was  taking  place  ; and,  fearing  lest  the  Roman 
citizen,  whom  he  was  bound  to  protect,  should  be  torn 
in  pieces  between  the  parties,  he  ordered  the  troops  to 
go  down  instantly  and  bring  him  back  into  the  soldiers’ 
quarters  within  the  fortress.” 

That  night,  when  Paul  was  alone  and  sad,  in  his  deso- 
late condition,  reflecting  no  doubt  upon  the  interruption 
to  his  plan  of  a fourth  missionary  journey  to  Rome,  an- 
other vision  appeared  to  him.  The  Lord  Jesus  himself 
appeared  to  him  and  told  him  to  be  of  good  cheer,  that 
he  should  see  Rome,  and  that  he  should  there  bear  tes- 
timony to  His  resurrection  and  Messiahship. 

The  next  morning  a conspiracy  was  made  to  assas- 
sinate Paul.  More  than  forty  Jews  took  a dreadful 
oath  either  themselves  to  perish  from  hunger  and  thirst 
or  to  slay  Paul.  The  chfef-priests  and  elders  were 
wicked  enough  to  listen  to  them  and  to  help  on  the 
plot.  They  were  no  doubt  more  enraged  than  ever  to 
think  that  Paul  escaped  from  the  Sanhedrim  the  day 
before.  What  a horrible  crime  was  this  which  they 


288 


(. FORTY-FOURTH  SUNDAY.) 


agreed  to  do  and  which  they  concealed  under  the  ap- 
pearance of  justice  and  religion! — to  ask  that  Paul 
might  he  brought  to  a court  of  justice,  and  to  murder 
him  on  the  way ! 

“ The  plot  was  ready : the  next  day  it  was  to  be  car- 
ried into  effect ; but  God  confounded  the  plans  of  the 
conspirators.”  One  of  Paul’s  relatives  here  appears. 
The  only  member  of  that  household  in  Tarsus  of  whom 
we  have  any  knowledge  is  mentioned : the  sister  of 
Paul’S  childhood.  The  kind  and  affectionate  act  of 
Paul’s  nephew,  in  the  midst  of  so  much  danger  to  him- 
self, shows  that  his  mother  must  have  had  something  of 
her  apostolic  brother’s  kind  and  tender  and  loving  dis- 
position, and  that  she  had  trained  her  son  into  the  prac- 
tice of  her  own  virtues.  This  young  naan  went  to  Fort 
Antonia,  gained  entrance  into  the  barracks,  got  per- 
mission to  see  his  uncle,  and  told  him  of  the  plot  against 
his  life.  Paul’s  Roman  citizenship,  as  well  as  his  per- 
sonal character,  had  already  won  him  respect  in  the 
garrison ; and  the  centurion  promptly  listened  to  Paul’s 
request  that  the  young  man  might  be  taken  to  the  head- 
quarters of  Lysias.  And  the  chief-officer  himself  either 
respected  Paul  so  much,  or  feared  him  so  much  because 
he  had  bound  him,  or  was  of  such  a kind  and  obliging 
disposition,  that  he  took  the  young  stranger  by  the 
hand  and  went  with  him  into  a private  place  and  asked 
him  wdiat  he  wished.  Then  Paul’s  nephew  not  only 
told  the  story  of  the  conspiracy,  but  entreated  Lysias 
not  to  yield  to  the  request  of  the  Jews.  How  earnestly 
Lysias  must  have  listened  as  the  young  Jew  went  on 
with  his  story!  Flow  the ‘resolution  and  patriotism  of 
the  Roman  soldier  rose  when  he  knew  that  the  Jews 
out  of  malice  were  plotting  against  the  life  of  a Roman 
citizen.  He  promptly  decided  what  to  do,  but  did  not 
tell  his  informant.  He  simply  dismissed  him  by  charg- 


PAUL  A PRISONER* 


289 


in g him  to  tell  no  man  whatever  that  he  had  brought 
him  this  information. 

Two  centurions  were  immediately  called  : they  were 
ordered  to  get  ready  two  hundred  of  the  regular  sol- 
diers, seventy  of  the  cavalry,  and  twro  hundred  spear- 
men : to  be  ready *to  start  for  Caesarea  at  nine  o’clock 
in  the  evening,  and  to  take  Paul  the  prisoner  in  safety 
to  Felix  the  governor.  And  besides,  as  the  journey 
wTas  long,  and  they  must  go  rapidly,  they  were  ordered 
to  have  more  than  one  horse  for  Paul.  uWe  may  be 
surprised  that  so  large  a force  was  sent  to  secure  the 
safety  of  one  man  ; but  we  must  remember  that  this 
man  was  a Roman  citizen,  while  the  garrison  in  Fort 
Antonia,  a thousand  strong,  could  easily  spare  that 
number  for  one  day  ; and  that  assassinations,  robberies, 
and  rebellions  were  quite  frequent  at  that  time  in 
Judea.”  No  one  could  tell  what  size  the  conspiracy 
might  reach,  or  to  what  an  extent  the  conspirators 
would  go,  if  any  discovery  was  made  of  Paul’s  depart- 
ure. Everything  was  done,  therefore,  secretly  as  well 
as  promptly ; and  an  hour  was  fixed  which  w^ould  ex- 
cite as  little  suspicion  as  possible.  “At  the  time  ap- 
pointed, the  troops,  wTith  Paul  in  the  midst  of  them, 
marched  out  of  the  fortress,  and  at  a rapid  pace  took 
the  road  to  Caesarea.” 


# 


( FORTY-FOURTH  SUNDAY.) 


/ 


QUESTIONS. 

TV AS  it  right  or  wrong  for  Lysias  to  bring  Paul  before  the 
* ' council  ? 

What  was  the  council  ? 

What  two  places  were  there  where  this  1 council  ’ met  ? 
How  many  years  since  Stephen’s  trial  ? Show  it. 

Whom  may  Paul  have  seen  in  the  council  ? 

How  would  they  think  of  Paul  ? 

How  could  he  boldly  face  that  court,  when  he  had  ac- 
knowledged himself  guilty  of  murder? 

How  can  the  greatest  criminal  gain  again  the  feeling  of 
right  ? 

Why  does  not  Paul  now  say,  1 Men,  brethren,  and  fathers  ’ ? 
What  is  meant  by  ‘all  good  conscience’  ? 

Can  a conscience  be  good  which  will  permit  a man  to 
persecute  and  murder  ? 

Why  did  the  high-priest  give  his  command  ? 

What  two  explanations  of  Paul’s  reply  ? 

If  a prophecy,  what  was  the  fulfilment  ? 

Why  had  the  high-priest  done  wickedly  ? 

Were  those  who  1 stood  by  ’ right  in  their  reply  ? 

WThat  does  ‘ resist  not  ’ mean  ? 

What  five  meanings  have  been  given  to  this  answer  of 
Paul’s  ? 

Which  one  do  you  think  correct  ? 

What  did  the  act  of  the  high-priest  show  Paul  ? 

What  two  parties  were  there  in  the  council  ? 

With  which  party  did  Paul#agree  ? on  what  point  ? 

How  was  the  doctrine  of  4 resurrection  ’ called  in  ques 
tion  ? 

Where  had  Paul  advocated  this  doctrine  ? for  what  ? 

Do  you  think  Paul’s  position  on  this  doctrine  was  well 
known  ? 

What  would  the  Sadducees  think  of  Paul’s  declaration  ? « 

Was  it  right  for  Paul  to  make  this  declaration  for  this 
purpose  ? 


(87) 


(. FORTY-FOURTH  SUNDAY.) 


In  what  other  way  can  you  explain  this  declaration  ? 
Why  did  the  Pharisee  Scribes  take  Paul’s  part  ?• 

Why  did  they  declare  Paul  innocent  ? 

What  other  doctrine  than  resurrection  did  thej-  refer 
to? 

To  what  time  did  they  refer,  when  an  angel  or  a spirit 
might  have  spoken  to  Paul  ? 

Why  did  the  chief  captain  take  Paul  again  from  the  J ews  ? 
What  would  Paul  be  likely  to  think  of  when  alone  ? 
Why  was  the  vision  an  especial  comfort  to  him  ? 

What  conspiracy  was  made  ? By  whom  ? 

Is  it  at  any  time  right  to  call  upon  ourselves  such 
curses  ? « 

Who  helped  the  conspiracy  on  ? 

Why  is  it  wicked  to  listen  to  such  proposals  ? 

Why  was  their  wickedness  especially  horrible  ? 

How  was  the  plan  defeated  ? 

What  does  this  show  in  respect  to  Paul’s  sister? 

What  did  Paul’s  nephew  ? 

How  did  Lysias  receive  him  ? Why  ? 

What  was  the  effect  on  Lysias  ? 

Why  was  this  heathen  officer  more  noble  than  the  tem- 
ple-councillors ? 

What  was  the  plan  of  Lysias  ? 

Would  there  be  so  many  men  and  horses  in  this  fort- 
ress ? 

Why  were  so  many  sent  ? 

* Was  there  more  than  one  1 beast’  for  Paul? 

What  was  the  hour  ? Why  ? 

(88) 


Smtbajjr. 


THE  CAPITAL  AND  THE  GOVERNOR  OF  JUDEA. 
LESSON. 

Acts  xxiii.  25-35;  xxiv.  1-26. 

THE  conspirators  were  perfiaps  in  session  arranging 
the  details  of  the  plot,  when  the  armed  men  tramped 
along  the  street  and  the  striking  of  the  horses’  hoofs  on 
the  pavement  rang  out  on  the  night-air.  But  the  pass- 
ing of  armed  companies  of  Roman  soldiers  had  become 
too  common  a thing  in  Jerusalem  to  call  especial  at- 
tention to  it,  or  to  awaken  suspicion  that  Paul  was  on 
the  way  to  a place  of  safety. 

Till  about  midnight  the  centurions  would  take  their 
course  directly  northward,  and  probably  along  the  very 
road  which  Paul  took  when  he  went  to  Damascus. 
How  different  the  journey  now ! Then,  an  escort  of 
soldiers  at  his  own  command  : now,  himself  a prisoner 
under  a"  Roman  guard  ! At  midnight  they  would  be 
about  at  Gophna,  (see  the  map  on  page  24,)  and  then 
would  leave  the  Damascus  road,  turning  to  the  left  to- 
wards the  coast.  “ Soon  they  began  to  descend,  start- 
ling the  shepherd  on  the  hills  of  Ephraim  and  rousing 
the  village  peasant,  who  woke  to  curse  his  heathen  op- 
pressor as  he  heard  the  voices  and  the  well-known  tramp 
of  the  Roman  soldiers.”  About  day-break  they  must 
have  been  near  the  foot  of  the  hilly  ridges  which  make 
up  the  broken  mountain-range.  From  the  last  hill  they 
descended,  they  overlooked  the  plain  of  Sharon.  “ The 


THE  CAPITAL  AND  THE  GOVERNOR.  291 


road  then  turned  northwards  across  the  rich  land  of  the 
plain  of  Sharon,  through  fields  of  wheat  and  barley,  al- 
most ready  for  the  harvest.”  Some  low,  wooded  hills 
now  shut  off  their  view  of  the  sea.  Early  in  the  forenoon 
they  reached  the  town  of  Antipatris.  They  were  no  w out 
of  the  mountain-passes,  in  an  open,  level  country.  The 
foot-soldiers  were  no  longer  needed  for  protection,  and 
they  might  be  wanted  at  Jerusalem.  One  centurion 
turned  back  therefore  with  them  to  F ort  Antonia.  The 
cavalry  and  spearmen  went  on,  probably  under  the 
orders  of  the  other  centurion ; and  in  the  afternoon 
“ their  weary  horses  entered  the  streets  of  Caesarea.” 
They  went  at  once  to  the  house  or  quarters  of  Felix, 
delivered  the  prisoner,  and  presented  the  letter  which 
Lysias  had  sent.  The  Governor  broke  the  seals  and 
read  the  following  official  despatch : 

“ Claudius  Lysias  sends  greeting  to  his  Excellency 
Felix  the  Governor.  This  man  teas  apprehended  by 
the  Jews  and  on  the  point  of  being  hilled  by  mem , when 
I came  and  rescued  him  with  my  military  guard  / for 
I learned  that  he  'was  a Roman  citizen } And  ichen  I 
icished  to  ascertain  the  charge  which  they  had  against 
him , I took  him  down  to  their  Sanhedrim  • and  there  I 
found  that  the  charge  had  re ference  to  certain  questions 
of  their  law , and  that  he  was  accused  of  no  offence 
worthy  of  death  or  imprisonment.  And  now , having 
received  information  that  a plot  is  about  to  be  formed 
against  the  man’s  life , I send  him  to  thee  forthwith , 
and  I have  told  his  accusers  that  they  must  bring  tlieir 
charge  before  thee.  FarewellT 

“ Felix  raised  his  eyes  from  the  paper  and  said : 4 To 
what  province  does  he  belong  ? 5 It  was  the  first  ques- 
tion which  a Roman  governor  would  naturally  ask  in 

1 This  was  false,  but  Lysias  craftily  inserted  it  to  save  himself  from 
disgrace.  He  did  not  rescue  Paul  because  he  was  a Roman  citizen. 


292 


(. FORTY-FIFTH  SUNDAY.) 


such  a case.  The  Roman  law  had  strict  rules  for  all 
legal  communication  between  provinces.  In  the  present- 
case,  there  could  be  no  difficulty.  A Roman  citizen, 
with  certain  vague  charges  brought  against  him,  was 
placed  under  the  protection  of  a governor  of  a province, 
. who  was  bound  to  keep  him  in  safe  custody  till  the 
cause  should  be  heard.  Having  found,  therefore,  that 
Paul  was  a native  of  the  province  of  Cilicia,  Felix 
simply  ordered  him  to  be  kept  in  c Herod’s  praetorium,52 
and  said  to  Paul  himself : c I will  hear  and  decide  thy 
cause  when  thy  accusers  have  come.5  55 

The  city  to  which  Paul  was  now  brought  was  one 
through  which  he  had  passed  several  times.  It  was 
built  up  by  Herod  the  Great  from  an  insignificant  place 
to  be  a splendid  city.  In  twelve  years  he  built  a wall 
around  the  town  and  decorated  it  with  splendid  build- 
ings. He  named  it  Caesarea  in  honor  of  Augustus  Caesar 
the  Emp^or.  The  buildings  were  made  of  white  stone. 
There  was  a theatre  (from  which  Herod  Agrippa  was 
carried  out  to  die3)  and  an  amphitheatre.  There  were 
aqueducts  for  the  conveyance  of  water.  There  was  a 
temple  dedicated  to  Caesar.  There  were  many  other 
splendid  buildings.  There  were  statues  and  heathen 
sanctuaries.  “The  city  was  provided  with  everything 
that  could  contribute  to  magnificence,  amusement,  and 
health.  But  its  great  boast  was  its  harbor.55  The  west 
winds  swept  with  great  fury  against  this  unprotected 
coast.  At  immense  expense  and  with  immense  labor, 
Herod  built  a stone  harbor,  equal  in  size  to  the  natural 
harbor  of  the  Piraeus  of  Athens.4  “ Yast  stones  were 
sunk  in  the  sea  to  the  depth  of  twenty  fathoms,  and 
thus  a stupendous  breakwater  was  formed,  curving 

* The  palace  and  ‘ judgment-hall’  (verse  35)  combined. 

8 See  pages  41,  42.  4 See  map  page  160. 


THE  CAPITAL  AND  THE  GOVERNOR.  293 


lound  so  as  to  give  complete  protection  against  the 
south-westerly  winds.  It  was  open  only  on  the  north.” 
“ Within  it  a fleet  might  ride  in  perfect  safety  in  all 
weathers.”  Into  this  harbor  the  ships  which  had  borne 
Paul  on  his  different  voyages  across  the  sea  to  Csesarea 
had  entered  and  here  had  cast  anchor.  When  Herod’s 
great  work  in  the  city  and  the  harbor  had  been  com- 
pleted, Herod  himself  fixed  his  palace  (or  preetorium) 
there,  and  Caesarea  became  the  capital  of  the  Roman 
province  of  J udea.  ‘ Herod’s  praetorium 5 was  probably 
the  residence  of  Felix  and  other  governors  after  Herod’s 
death. 

Although  Caesarea  was  the  capital  of  Judea,  it  seems 
to  have  been  as  much  a Gentile  city  as  it  was  a Jewish 
city.  Many  ‘ heathen  strangers  ’ lived  there.  “ The 
harbor  was  called  the  ‘Augustan  Harbor :’  the  city, 
‘Augustan  Caesarea.’  Even  in  the  Jewish  synagogues 
the  Greek  translation  of  the  Scriptures  was  read. 

Felix,  the  Governor  of  this  Roman  province,  was  a 
singular  example  of  those  persons  who  have  risen  from 
the  lowest  rank  to  high  authority.  He  was  at  first  a 
slave.  For  something  which  he  had  done,  we  do  not 
know  what,  he  was  made  free  by  the  emperor.  When 
he  was  the  freedman  of  the  emperor  he  was  strangely 
honored  with  military  appointments,  until  he  was  made 
Procurator5  or  Governor  of  Judea.  He  was  cruel,  un- 
just, oppressive,  unscrupulous  and  profligate.  A Roman 
historian  says : “ That  in  the  practice  of  all  kinds  of  lust 
and  cruelty,  he  exercised  the  power  of  a king  with  the 
temper  of  a slave.”  He  had  caused  one  higli-priest  to 
be  murdered  by  a gang  of  villains  at  the  very  steps  of 
the  temple.  He  had  enticed  Drusilla,  a daughter  of 
Herod  Agrippa,  who  was  celebrated  for  her  beauty,  to 

6 The  Procurator  had  much  more  power  and  dignity  than  the  Pro- 
consul.  See  page  51. 


294 


(. FORTY-FIFTH  SUNDAY.) 


leave  lier  husband  and  to  live  with  him.  Yet  he  did  the 
Jews  some  good  services.  “ He  cleared  various  parts  of 
the  country  from  robbers  : he  pursued  and  drove  away 
that  Egyptian  fanatic  ” who  had  attempted  to  raise  se- 
dition under  pretence  of  prophetic  power,  and  for  whom 
Claudius  Lysias  mistook  Paul.  The  story  of  Paul’s 
imprisonment  by  him,  in  the  Scriptures,  shows,  as  will 
be  seen,  his  servile  meanness.  He  was  now  only  wait- 
ing for  Paul’s  accusers  to  arrive  before  bringing  on  his 
trial. 

“ The  law  required  that  causes  should  be  heard 
speedily ; and  the  Apostle’s  enemies  were  not  long  in 
arriving.  Five  days  either  after  Paul’s  departure  from 
Jerusalem  or  after  his  arrival  at  Caesarea,  his  accusers 
appeared.  They  brought  with  them  “ one  of  those 
advocates,  who  practised  in  the  law-courts  of  the  pro- 
vinces where  the  forms  of  Roman  law  were  imperfectly 
known  and  the  Latin  language  imperfectly  understood.” 
His  name,  Tertullus,  is  Roman : perhaps  he  spoke  in 
Latin.  The  formal  accusation  was  made  before  the 
governor  ; the  prisoner  was  brought  in  ; and  Tertullus 
made  a speech  in  which,  after  flattering  Felix  with  un- 
merited praise,  he  charged  Paul  with  three  crimes : 

I.  T^ith  sedition  or  illegal  disturbances  among  all 
the  Jews  throughout  the  empire.6 

II.  With  being  a ringleader  of 4 the  sect  of  the  ISTaza- 
renes.’ 

III.  “ With  an  attempt  to  profane  the  temple  at  Je- 
rusalem.” 

The  first  was  a charge  of  treason  against  the  Roman 
empire : the  second  was  the  charge  of  heresy  against 
the  law  of  Moses : the  third  was  the  charge  of  sacri- 

® 1 Throughout  the  world.’  The  Roman  empire  occupied  almost 
the  habitable  world. 


THE  CAPITAL  AND  THE  GOVERNOR . 295 


lege , an  offence  against  the  Roman  law  as  well  as  the 
Jewish,  for  the  Roman  law  protected  the  Jews  in  their 
worship. 

Tertullus  finished  his  speech  by  saying  that  Lysias, 
the  Jerusalem  chief-captain,  had  forcibly  taken  away 
Paul  from  the  regular  course  of  justice,  when  the  Jews 
would  have  given  him  a fair  trial  according  to  their  own 
ecclesiastical  law  ; and  that  he  had  sent  him  from  J eru- 
salem  down  to  Caesarea,  to  be  tried  here,  when  he 
might  as  well  have  been  tried  in  Jerusalem.  Ananias 
and  the  elders  agreed  to  what  Tertullus  had  said. 

“ The  Governor  now  made  a gesture  to  the  prisoner 
to  signify  that  he  might  make  his  defence.  The  Jews 
were  silent ; and  the  Apostle  refuted  Tertullus  step  by 
step.” 

• Paul’s  keply  to  teptullus. 

I.  Paul  expresses  his  satisfaction  that  Felix  has  been 
governor  of  the  province  for  many  years,  because  he 
can  easily  ascertain  whether  he  himself  had  at  any  time 
raised  sedition -during  those  years,  and  also  that  it  had 
been  only  twelve  days  since  he  came  to  Jerusalem  at 
all.7  (Verses  10,  11.) 

II.  In  respect  to  sedition , Why  does  not  Tertullus 
bring  the  proof  of  his  charges  ? Why  does  he  not 
prove  the  time  and  the  place  at  which  I committed 
these  offences  ? Neither  in  the  temple  nor  in  the  syn- 
agogues nor  about  the  city  have  I been  found  disputing 
or  exciting  the  people.8  (Verses  12,  13.) 

7 Felix  had  been  governor  six  or  eight  years;  and  Paul  had  not 
been  in  the  country,  during  Felix’s  reign,  before  his  recent  return 
from  his  missionary  journey,  more  than  a very  few  days,  if  at  all. 
What  opportunity  had  there  been  for  him  to  raise  sedition  ? 

8 It  is  worthy  of  notice  that  Tertullus  had  accused  Paul  of  sedition 
everywhere  throughout  the  empire  ; Paul  justly  answers  the  charge 
only  so  far  as  respects  the  province  of  Judea.  The  jurisdiction  of 
Felix  was  confined  to  his  province. 


296 


(. FORTY-FIFTH  SUNDAY.) 


III.  In  respect  to  heresy , Paul  confessed  he  belonged 
to  a 4 sect,’  but  that  he  believed  in  the  Jewish  law  and 
in  the  Jewish  prophets.  There  is  indeed  a 4 sect’  of 
the  Jews  called  by  some  the  4 sect  of  the  Nazarenes,’ 
just  as  there  is  a sect  of  the  Pharisees  and  a sect  of  the 
Sadducees.  As  the  Roman  law  protected  these  sects  of 
Jews  in  their  national  faith,  Paul  claimed  protection  for 
the  sect  to  which  he  belonged.  He  said  too  that  in 
one  most  important  point,  the  doctrine  of  the  resurrec- 
tion, his  own  sect  agreed  with  'the  sect  to  which  his 
accusers  belonged ; and  that,  as  for  himself,  in  respect 
to  all  these  things,  he  tried  to  live  a conscientious  life. 
(Verses  14  to  16.) 

IY.  In  respect  to  polluting  the  temple , Paul  declared 
that  he  was  in  the  temple  after  regular  purification, 
44  not  gathering  a multitude  nor  causing  a tumult!*” 
that  those  very  Jews  of  Asia9  who  first  saw  him 
there  were  the  proper  witnesses  to  bring  against  him, 
and  they  ought  to  state  what  the  act  of  pollution  was 
which  he  had  committed.  (Verses  17  to  19.) 

Y.  In  respect  to  the  trial  before  the  Sanhedrim,  let 
these  members  of  the  Sanhedrim  present  say  whether 
any  accusation  was  made  against  me  there ; or  whether 
there  was  any  disturbance  there,  except  what  arose  from 
the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection,  which  both  many  of 
them  and  I myself  believe.  (Yerses  20,  21.) 

Paul  had  made  a strong  argument  for  himself,  even  in 
the  mind  of  this  wicked  governor.  Felix  knew  some- 
thing of  the  Jews  and  their  quarrels.  He  must  have 
known  something  of  the  Christian  religion  too,  for  it 
had  been  known  in  Caesarea  for  years.  But  Felix  could 
not  quite  make  up  his  mind  to  acquit  his  prisoner,  as  he 
ought  to  have  done.  He  simply  said  he  would  wait  till 
Lysias  came  before  he  would  give  his  final  decision. 

9 xxi.  27. 


THE  CAPITAL  AND  THE  GOVERNOR . 297 


Even  tliat  which  seemed  to  he  kindness  towards  his 
prisoner  was  selfishness.  He  gave  him  all  the  freedom 
he  well  could,  and  even  called  Paul  often  into  his  pre- 
sence; hut  he  hoped  by  this  means  to  receive  from 
Paul’s  friends  a hrihe  for  his  liberation.  In  his  hold 
wickedness,  he  even  had  the  effrontery  to  invite  Paul 
to  speak  of  the  pure  and  holy  religion  of  Jesus  to  him, 
while  his  adulterous  Drusilla  sat  hy  his  side.  No  won- 
der the  convicted  man  trembled  when  Paul  u reasoned 
of  righteousness,  temperance,  and  judgment  to  come.55 


( FORTY-FIFTH  SUNDAY.) 


QUESTIONS. 

LTHY  would  not  so  large  a company  of  troops  excite  suspi* 
^ cion  ? 

What  direction  did  they  take  ? Along  what  road  ? 
Where  was  Antipatris  ? Describe  the  journey  there. 
Why  did  the  footmen  return  ? 

To  whom  did  the  horsemen  deliver  Paul  ? 

What  did  they  present  him  ? 

What  was  the  opening  sentence  of  Lysias’s  letter  ? 

What  is  not  true  in  the  second  sentence  ? 

Why  did  Lysias  write  it  ? 

What  is  meant  by  4 an  army’  ? 

Why  did  Lysias  send  Paul  to  Felix,  if  he  was  innocent  ? 
Was  Lysias  right  or  wrong  in  sending  him  ? 

What  was  the  Governor’s  first  question  ? Why  ? 

Was  he  doing  his  duty  in  imprisoning  Paul  ? 

Ought  Paul  to  have  been  discharged  without  waiting  for 
his  accusers  ? 

Was  Paul  kept  in  a common  prison  ? Why  ? 

What  is  meant  by  4 judgment-hall  ’ ? 

What  was  Caesarea  ? Who  built  and  adorned  it  ? 

How  many  years  in  building  ? Prominent  buildings  ? 
What  was  the  especial  pride  of  the  city  ? 

Was  Caesarea  a Jewish  city?  Why? 

How  had  Felix  risen  to  authority  ? 

How  did  the  office  of  Governor  in  Judea  differ  from  the 
same  office  in  Cyprus  ? 

What  kind  of  a man  was  Felix  ? 

What  crimes  had  he  committed  ? 

What  favors  had  he  done  the  Jews  ? 

Why  did  Paul’s  accusers  come  down  to  Caesarea  so  soon? 
Whom  did  they  bring  ? Why  ? 

Was  the  opening  sentence  of  his  speech  true  ? 

What  is  meant  by  4 providence  ’ ? 

What  three  crimes  did  he  accuse  Paul  of? 

What  does  4 pestilent  ’ mean  ? 

(89) 


(. FORTY-FIFTH  SUNDAY.) 


* What  does  4 throughout  the  world  ’ mean  ? 

Was  the  claim  of  Tertullus  that  the  Jews  were  proceed- 
ing legally,  true  or  not  ? 

Who  said  Tertullus’s  speech  was  true  ? 

Is  Paul’s  speech  a reply  to  Tertullus’s  speech  or  not  ? 

What  is  the  first  division  of  Paul’s  speech  ? 

How  long  had  Felix  been  Governor  ? 

Why  should  Paul  be  glad  of  this  ? 

What  is  the  second  division  of  Paul’s  speech  ? 

Did  Paul  in  this  answer  one  of  the  charges  fully  ? 
Temple,  people,  synagogues,  city:  why  did  he  name 
these  ? 

What  is  the  third  division  of  the  speech  ? 

What  is  heresy  ? How  could  it  be  charged  upon  Paul  ? 
How  did  Paul  refute  this  charge  ? 

In  what  two  things  did  Paul  agree  with  other  sects  ? 
What  is  the  fourth  division  of  the  speech  ? 

What  'proof  did  Paul  demand  of  this  charge  ? 

What  is  the  fifth  division  of  the  speech  ? 

What  was  the  Governor’s  decision? 

What  is  meant  by  4 having  more  perfect  knowledge  of 
that  way  ’ ? 

Was  it  right  or  wrong  in  Felix  to  4 defer’  this  matter  ? 
Why  did  Felix  let  Paul  have  liberty  ? 

With  whom  did  Felix  hear  Paul  preach  ? 

What  do  you  suppose  was  his  motive  in  asking  Paul  to 
preach  4 of  Christ  ’ ? 

Why  should  Felix  especially  tremble  when  Paul  preach- 
ed on  these  subjects  ? 

Why  would  we  tremble,  if  we  should  see  clearly  the 
meaning  of  these  same  subjects  ? 

What  is  meant  by  4 temperance  ’ ? 

Did  Felix  see  Paul  after  this  time  ? 

Have  we  the  power  to  fix  4 the  convenient  season  ’ when 
we  will  be  converted  ? 

(90) 


Jmfg-sktjr  Sunbitg. 


TIIE  APPEAL  TO  THE  EMPEROR. 
LESSON. 

Acts  xxiv.  27;  xxv.  1-22. 

FOR  two  whole  years  the  unscrupulous  Felix  kept 
Paul  in  custody  at  Caesarea.  44  He  was  not  bound 
to  fix  any  definite  time  for  the  trial,  but  might  defer  it 
at  his  pleasure,  and  keep  the  accused  in  custody  during 
the  interval.  The  prisoner  was  given  in  charge  to  a 
soldier,  who  was  responsible  with  his  own  life  for  the 
safe  keeping  of  his  prisoner ; and  the  keeping  of  the 
prisoner  was  made  sure  by  chaining  the  prisoner’s  right 
hand  to  the  soldier’s  left.”  Paul  might  have  been  kept 
at  the  barracks  of  the  soldiers  or  in  a private  house, 
under  charge  of  his  keeper.  No  doubt  many  of  his 
Christian  friends  did  visit  him.  As  it  was  customary 
for  the  Roman  troops  to  remain  in  one  place  a num- 
ber of  years,  Cornelius,  the  centurion,  may  possibly 
have  still  been  in  Caesarea.  At  least  his  Christian  influ- 
ence and  that  of  his  4 kinsmen  and  near  friends,’  may 
have  lingered  in  many  converts  among  both  soldiers 
and  people.  The  Apostle,  who  remained  two  years  in 
Corinth  and  three  years  in  Ephesus  to  instruct  and 
direct  the  Corinthian  and  Ephesian  churches,  would 
find  enough  to  do  for  two  years,  even  though  a prison- 
er, in  teaching  the  church  in  Caesarea.  44  Many  mes- 
sages and  even  letters,  of  which  we  know  nothing,  may 
have  been  sent  from  Caesarea  to  brethren  at  a distance.” 


THE  APPEAL  TO  THE  EMPEROR. 


299 


It  hasb£en  supposed  that  Luke,  during4hese  two  years, 
wrote  his  Gospel  under  the  direction  of  Paul. 

During  these  two  years,  the  cruelty  of  Felix  to  the 
Jews  became  more  and  more  unendurable.  At  last 
there  was  a terrible  outbreak  between  the  Jews  and  the 
Greeks  of  Caesarea,  and  many  Jews  were  slaughtered 
in  the  streets.  u In  the  end,  Felix  was  summoned  to 
Rome,  and  the  Jews  followed  him  with  their  accusa- 
tions.” Felix,  anxious  to  lay  up  favor  with  the  Jews,1 
left  Paul  bound.  And  so  it  happened  that  “ the  same 
enmity  of  the  world  against  the  Gospel  which  set  Bar- 
rabas  free,  left  Paul  a prisoner.” 

Festus,  the  new  Governor,  appointed  by  the  Emperor, 
seems  to  have  been  an  upright  and  honorable  man.  And 
now,  just  as  the  Jews  of  Corinth  when  Gallio  was  first 
appointed  tried  to  get  the  influence  of  the  new  Pro- 
Consul  in  their  favor,  so  the  Jews  of  Jerusalem,  when 
Festus,  the  new  Governor,  came  to  Caesarea,  tried  to 
take  advantage  of  the  change  to  get  Paul  into  their 
own  power.  On  the  very  first  visit  of  Festus  from  the 
modern  to  the  ancient  capital,  to  make  himself  acquaint- 
ed wfith  the  people  and  with  their  favorite  city,  only 
three  days  after  assuming  authority  over  the  province, 
the  Jews  made  an  accusation  against  Paul.  They 
crowded  around  him  in  a multitude  and  declared  that 
Paul  ought  not  to  live.2  What  their  open  hatred  did 
not  accomplish  under  Felix,  they  hoped  by  plausible 
arts  to  gain  under  Festus.  “ They  asked  Festus,  as  a 
favor,  (and  they  had  good  reason  to  hope  that  the  new 
governor,  on  his  arrival,  would  not  refuse  it,)  that  he 
would  allow  Paul  to  be  brought  up  to  Jerusalem.  The 
plea  doubtless  was  that  he  ought  to  be  tried  again  bc- 

1 4 Willing  to  show  the  Jews  a pleasure.’  The  Greek  words  mean 
very  nearly  the  English  phrase,  1 wishing  to  be  in  the  good  graces  of 
the  Jews.’  2 xxv.  24. 


300 


{FORTY-SIXTH  SUNDAY.) 


fore  tlie  Sanhe^’im.  The  real  purpose  was  t©  assassi- 
nate him  on  the  road.”  Two  years  had  not  softened 
the  bitterness  of  their  hate.  “ The  answer  of  Festus 
was  dignified  and  just,  and  worthy  of  his  office.  He 
said  that  Paul  was  in  custody  at  Caesarea,  and  that  he 
himself  was  shortly  to  return  thither  : that  it  was  not 
the  custom  of  the  Romans  to  give  up  an  uncondemned 
man  as  a favor that  his  accusers  must  meet  him  face 
to  face,  and  he  must  have  full  opportunity  to*  defend 
himself.  “ Those  therefore  who  were  competent  to  the 
task  of  accusers,  should  come  down  with  him  to  Caesa- 
rea, and  there  make  the  accusation.” 

After  ten  days  spent  in  Jerusalem,  Festus  returned 
to  his  capital.  The  very  next  day  he  ordered  a session 
of  his  court,  and  took  his  place  among  his  councillors 3 
on  the  judgment-seat.  The  prisoner  was  brought  in. 
The  accusers  made  many  charges,  but  they  gave  no 
proof  of  them  to  the  fair-minded  Festus.  These  charges 
are  not  described  by  Luke  in  regular  form,  as  those  of 
Tertullus  were,  but  we  may  remember  that  Felix  did 
not  acquit  Paul  of  Tertullus’  accusation,  and  therefore 
that  it  still  remained.  Paul’s  reply  was  the  same  as  be- 
fore. He  declared  himself  innocent  of  heresy,  (c  against 
the  law  of  Moses,’)  of  sacrilege,  (c  against  the  temple,’) 
and  of  treason,  (4  against  Caesar.’) 

Festus  soon  saw  that  Paul  had  committed  no  crime, 
especially  one  worthy  of  death.4  He  saw  the  difficulty 
was  one  of  religious  prejudice  and  of  Jewish  law,  and 
was  not  of  political  character.  He  was  therefore  in 
some  perplexity  ;5  for  he  did  not  wish  to  lose  the 
opportunity  of  gaining  the  good  wishes  of  the  Jews.6 
44  He  proposed,  therefore,  to  Paul,  that  he  should  go  up 
to  Jerusalem  and  be  tried  there,  in  his  presence,  or  at 

8 Verse  12.  4 See  verses  25,  26.  6 Verse  20,  with  margin. 

• The  words  in  verse  9 are  the  same  as  in  xxiv.  27.  See  note  1. 


THE  APPEAL  TO  THE  EMPEROR. 


301 


least  under  his  protection.”  Paul  could,  by  his  own 
consent,  if  the  Governor  should  agree  to  it,  transfer 
himself  from  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Governor’s  court  to 
that  of  the  Sanhedrim.  But  he  knew  too  well  the  dan- 
ger of  such  a change ; and  he  knew,  too,  that  it  was 
his  right  as  a Roman  citizen  to  be  tried  by  the  Roman 
and  not  by  the  Jewish  law.  He  quickly  declined^there- 
fore,  the  proposal,  and  boldly  claimed  his  rights  from 
Festus.  At  Philippi  he  had  claimed  one  of  the  three 
great  privileges  of  Roman  citizenship,7  the  freedom 
from  scourging , and  now,  before  Festus,  he  claimed 
another,  the  right  of  appeal  to  the  Emperor . Paul’s 
reply  to  this  governor  of  a Roman  province,  was  full 
of  dignity  and  power  : 

“ I stand  before  Csesar’s  tribunal,  and  there 
ought  my  trial  to  be.  To  the  Jews  I have  done 
no  wrong,  as  thou  knowest  full  well.  If  I am 
guilty  of  breaking  the  law,  and  have  done  any- 
thing worthy  of  death,  I refuse  not  to  die  ; but 
if  the  things  whereof  these  men  accuse  me  are 
nought,  no  man  can  give  me  up  to  them.  I 
appeal  unto  Caesar.” 

Festus  was  no  doubt  surprised  ; but  he  had  no  choice. 
“ By  the  mere  jwonunciation  of  those  powerful  words, 
‘I appeal  unto  Caesarf  Paul  instantly  removed  his  cause 
from  the  jurisdiction  of  the  magistrate  before  whom  he 
stood,  to  the  supreme  tribunal  of  the  Emperor  at  Rome.” 
Only  one  thing  was  to  be  determined  by  Festus,  and 
he  had  nothing  to  do  but  to  send  his  prisoner  to  Rome. 
“ There  were  a few  cases  in  which  the  right  of  appeal 
was  not  permitted : a bandit  or  a pirate,  for  example, 
might  be  condemned  and  executed  by  the  magistrate 
of  the  province,  notwithstanding  his  appeal  to  the  Em- 
peror. Festus  therefore  consulted  his  councillors.  It 
7 See  page  143. 


302 


(. FORTY-SIXTH  SUNDAY.) 


was  clear  that  Paul’s  case  was  not  one  of  these  excep- 
tions. The  appeal  would  stand.  Festus  “ immediately 
pronounced  the  decision  of  the  court  ” : c Thou  hast 
appealed  unto  Caesar  : to  Caesar  thou  shalt  go.’ 

It  may  seem  strange  that  Paul  should  have  made  this 
appeal,  when  he  was  evidently  so  near  acquittal.  There 
are,  however,  three  sufficient  reasons : the  danger  of 
some  other  attempt  to  take  him  to  Jerusalem,  the  prob- 
ability that  he  would  be  kept  in  prison  for  years  in 
Caesarea,  and  the  fact  that  Paul  wished  to  go  to  Rome. 
He  might  as  well  be  prisoner  in  Rome  as  in  Caesarea. 
If  he  should  be  acquitted  speedily  at  Rome,  he  would 
be  precisely  where  he  wanted  to  be ; and  if  not,  there 
might  be  many  opportunities,  even  while  a prisoner,  as 
there  had  been  in  Caesarea,  of  teaching,  even  among 
soldiers  and  jailers,  the  doctrines  of  Jesus. 

After  the  appeal  was  decided,  Festus  had  one  other 
duty  to  perform.  “ He  was  bound  to  forward  to  Rome 
all  the  acts  and  documents  bearing  on  the  trial,  the 
statements  of  the  witnesses,  and  the  record  of  his  own 
judgment  on  the  case.  And  it  was  his  further  duty  to 
keep  the  accused  person  in  safe  custody,  and  to  send 
him  to  Rome  for  trial  at  the  earliest  opportunity.  Fes- 
tus was  in  new  perplexity.  Paul  had  appealed ; he  had 
allowed  the  appeal:  but  no  crime  had  been  proved 
against  the  prisoner.  Justly  enough,  it  seemed  absurd 
to  him  to  send  a prisoner  to  Rome  without  any  charge 
of  crime.8 

During  the  days  while  Festus  was  in  this  state  of 
perplexity  in  respect  to  Paul,  a distinguished  visitor 
came  to  Caesarea  to  congratulate  Festus  on  his  new 
position  as  governor  of  the  province.  This  was  the 
great-grandson  of  Herod  the  Great,  (who  built  Ciesa- 


8 Terse  27,  (xxv.) 


THE  APPEAL  TO  THE  EMPEROR. 


303 


rea,)  who  was  at  this  time  King  of  Chalcis,  a small  city 
and  district  east  of  Antioch  and  of  the  river  Orontes. 
He  was  the  brother  of  Drusilla  (who  lived  with  Felix) 
and  of  Bernice ; and  his  sister  Bernice  accompanied 
him  to  this  city  which  their  great-grandfather  had  built. 
“This  prince  had  been  acquainted  from  his  youth  with 
all  that  related  to  the  Jewish  law,  and  was  at  this  time 
superintendent  of  the  temple,  with  the  power  of  appoint- 
ing the  high-priest.  Festus  took  advantage  of  this  op- 
portunity of  consulting  one  better  informed  than  him- 
self on  the  points  in  question.”  He  told  Agrippa  the 
story  of  his  prisoner  ( left  in  bonds  by  Felix,’  and  spoke 
especially  of  Paul’s  earnest  declaration  concerning  a 
certain  Jesus  who  had  been  dead  but  was  alive  again. 
“ This  cannot  have  been  the  first  time  that  Agrippa 
had  heard  of  the  resurrection  of  Jesus,  or  of  the  Apos- 
tle Paul.  His  curiosity  was  aroused,  and  he  expressed 
a wish  to  see  the  prisoner.  Festus  readily  yielded  to 
his  request,  and  fixed  the  next  day  for  the  interview.” 


c FORTY-SIXTH  SUNDAY.) 


QUESTIONS. 

TN  what  kind  of  confinement  was  Paul  kept  ? How  long  ? 
Where  might  he  have  lived  ? 

What  Roman  centurion  may  have  still  been  in  Caesarea  ? 
What  was  Paul  doubtless  doing  all  this  time  ? 

What  has  been  supposed  in  respect  to  Luke  ? 

Why  did  Felix  cease  to  be  Governor  of  Judea? 

What  is  the  meaning  of  ‘willing  to  show  the  Jews  a 
pleasure  ’ ? 

What  kind  of  a man  was  the  new  Governor  ? 

What  advantage  did  the  J ews  try  to  take  ? 

Why  would  the  new  Governor  go  to  Jerusalem  so  soon  ? 
What  three  verses  show  how  they  besought  Felix  ? 
What  was  probably  their  plan  ? their  purpose  ? 

What  kind  of  an  answer  was  the  Governor’s  ? 

What  did  he  require  ? 

How  long  before  Felix  returned  ? 

What  just  Roman  law  did  he  enforce  ? (Yerse  16.) 
Why  did  he  return  to  Caesarea  ? 

Where  was  the  court  held  ? 

If  the  ‘ accusers  ’ could  not  ‘ prove  ’ their  ‘ complaints,’ 
why  did  Paul  make  any  answer  ? 

What  three  points  did  Paul’s  reply  comprise  ? 

What  did  Festus  see  the  difficulty  to  be  ? 

How  did  Festus  resemble  Felix  ? 

What  proposal  did  he  make  to  Paul  ? 

What  power  had  Paul  in  respect  to  this  proposal  ? 

Why  was  not  this  a good  plan  ? 

What  does  it  show  in  respect  to  the  honesty  of  Festus? 
What  right  did  Paul  now  claim  ? 

What  other  privilege  had  Paul  claimed  before  ? 

How  was  the  Governor’s  judgment-seat  Caesar’s  tri- 
bunal ? 

What  did  Paul  really  accuse  Festus  of  in  the  sentence : 
‘To  the  Jews  I have  done,’  etc. 

How  did  Paul  sustain  the  Roman  law  ? 

(91) 


{FORTY-SIXTH  SUNDAY, \) 


Is  it  right  always  to  sustain  the  law  ? 

What  must  have  been  the  effect  of  Paul’s  reply  on  Festus  ? 
What  was  the  effect  on  Paul’s  trial  ? 

What  one  thing  must  Festus  now  determine  ? 

Whom  did  he  consult  ? Why  ? 

What  was  the  decision  ? 

How  many  reasons  can  you  give  why  it  was  best  for  Paul  to 
make  this  appeal  ? 

After  the  appeal  was  decided,  what  other  duty  had  Fes- 
tus? • 

What  new  perplexity  was  he  in  ? 

What  came  to  pass  in  these  days  ? 

What  was  their  object  in  visiting  Festus  ? 

Who  was  Agrippa  ? Bernice  ? Drusilla  ? 

How  were  these  three  interested  in  Caesarea  ? 

King  of  what  ? acquainted  with  what  ? with  power  of 
what  ? 

Why  did  Festus  consult  Agrippa  about  Paul  ? 

What  did  he  tell  this  king  ? 

Which  did  the  Jews  wish  first  from  Festus,  ‘judgment* 
or  trial  ? 

What  is  meant  by  ‘ their  own  superstition  ’ ? 

Was  there  more  than  one  Jesus  ? 

Do  you  suppose  that  Festus  did  not  understand  what  Paul 
meant  by  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  ? 

What  is  meant  by  ‘ doubted  of  such  manner  of  ques- 
tions ’ ? 

What  Caesar  was  Augustus  ? 

Why  was  King  Agrippa’ s curiosity  excited  ? 

(92) 


Jmlij-sefanfjj  Simbatr. 


THE  ROYAL  VISITORS. 


* LESSON. 

Acts  xxv.  23-27 ; xxvi. 

I^ESTUS  was  determined  to  give  his  royal  visitors 
- the  fullest  entertainment  possible  from  the  speech 
of  his  eloquent  prisoner.  The  occasion  was  therefore 
to  be  made  dignified  and  ceremonious.  He  sent  invita- 
tions to  the  principal  men  of  Caesarea  to  be  present. 
He  ordered  the  captains  of  the  thousands  to  attend  him 
on  his  entrance  into  the  audience-chamber.  And  then 
with  King  Agrippa  and  Bernice,  with  his  retinue  of 
military  officers  and  distinguished  citizens,  with  great 
display  he  seated  himself  and  his  illustrious  guests  in 
the  conspicuous  part  of  the  chamber,  and  ordered  Paul 
to  be  brought  in. 

One  of  the  times  had  indeed  come  when  Paul  was  to 
bear  c the  name  of  the  Lord  before  kings.51  Here,  in 
this  royal  city  of  Caesarea,  he  was  to  speak  before  the 
king  whose  ancestor  built  up  all  this  splendor,  and 
whose  father  had  been  publicly  hailed  as  a god  by  the 
multitude  in  the  great  theatre  where  he  made  an  im- 
pious oration  ;1 2  he  was  to  speak  before  that  king’s  beau- 
tiful, courtly  and  wicked  sister  Bernice,  as  he  had  once 
spoken  before  his  other  beautiful  and  wicked  sister  Dru- 

1 ix.  15. 

2 xii.  21-23.  That  was  Herod  Agrippa  I.  This  was  his  son,  Herod 
Agrippa  H. 


THE  ROYAL  VISITORS. 


305 


silla ; and  he  was  to  speak  again  before  Festus,  the  Gov- 
ernor of  Judea.  The  members  of  the  Herodian  family 
were  well  acquainted  with  Jewish  customs  and  usages, 
but  were  thoroughly  negligent  of  them  and  thoroughly 
unprincipled.  The  new  governor  of  the  province,  though 
inclined  to  do  justice,  was  the  representative  of  an  art- 
ful, designing,  oppressive  empire.  On  the  one  side  was 
worldliness  in  all  its  dignity  and  authority : on  the  other 
the  simple  spiritual  power  of  the  Gospel. 

Festus  himself  made  an  opening  address  to  the  as- 
sembly and  especially  to  King  Agrippa.  It  was  simply 
the  statement  which  he  had  made  to  Agrippa  before  in 
private,  but  now  it  was  in  the  form  of  a ceremonious 
and  stately  speech.  Festus,  with  much  display,  directed 
King  Agrippa’s  attention  to  Paul.  He  declared  that 
Paul  was  innocent  of  any  crime  punished  by  death.  He 
said  that  Paul  had  appealed  to  the  Emperor ; and  then 
he  declared  his  own  perplexity  in  making  out  a state- 
ment of  Paul’s  case,  to  be  sent  to  the  Emperor.  That 
Agrippa  might  hear  the  prisoner’s  own  story,  he  had 
ordered  this  audience,  and  now  Paul  might  be  permit- 
ted to  speak  for  himself. 

THE  ADDRESS  BEFORE  KING  AGRIPPA. 

As  Paul  was  now  invited  to  speak  before  a Jewish 
king,  he  does  not  try  to  defend  himself  from  the  charge 
of  treason  against  the  Roman  law,  but  rather  from  the 
charge  of  heresy  against  the  Jewish  law.  Indeed  it 
had  been  decided  that  he  should  go  to  Rome  and  be 
tried  before  the  Emperor  in  respect  to  the  accusations 
made  against  him.  In  his  speech  therefore  before  King 
Agrippa  Paul  gives  the  reasons  why  the  Jews  have 
sought  his  life,  and  earnestly  speaks  of  Jesus  as  the 
Messiah  of  the  Jews. 

I.  Paul  first  declared  King  Agrippa’s  familiarity  with 


306 


{FORTY-SEVENTH  SUNDAY.) 


Jewish  customs  and  usages  a source  of  satisfaction  to 
him  in  making  his  address.  (Verses  2,  3.)  When 
Paul  spoke  to  Festus,  a Roman,  recently  arrived  from 
Rome,  he  could  not  of  course  speak  so  freely  of  cus- 
toms and  sects  among  the  Jews. 

II.  In  respect  to  heresy , or  violating  the  law  of  Moses, 
which  the  Jews  had  accused  him  of,  he  was  as  far  from 
committing  that  crime  as  any  Jew.  (Verses  4 to  8.) 
For  (1.)  In  all  his  early  life  he  had  been  educated  and 
had  lived  as  a Pharisee,  keeping  the  law  in  the  strictest 
manner,  as  the  Jews  themselves  knew.  (4,  5.)  And 
now  (2.)  The  very  thing  the  Jews  accused  him  of  was 
that  he  believed  the  great  promise  of  the  Messiah  made 
to  the  Jews  was  fulfilled.  (6,  7,  8.)  All  the  tribes  of 
Israel  claimed  that  the  time  would  come  when  that 
great  promise  would  be  fulfilled.  He  had  only  claimed 
that  it  teas  already  fulfilled;  that  Jesus  of  Nazareth 
was  this  Messiah ; and  that  his  resurrection  from  the 
dead  proved  him  to  be.  And  why  should  it  be  thought 
incredible  among  the  Jew^s  and  especially  among  the 
Pharisees,  who  believed  in  the  resurrection  of  the  dead, 
that  God  should  raise  Jesus  from  the  dead  ? By 
believing  that  Jesus  of  Nazareth  had  risen  from  the 
dead  and  therefore  was  the  Messiah,  he  was  as  really 
keeping  the  law  as  the  Jews  were  in  expecting  a Mes- 
siah at  all. 

III.  The  real  c causes 5 why  the  Jews  seized  him  in 
the  temple  and  tried  to  kill  him  in  Jerusalem  were 
not  heresy,  but  that  he  had  changed  from  a persecutor 
of  Jesus  and  of  his  followers  to  their  friend,  and  had 
preached  to  the  Gentiles,  in  obedience  to  Jesus’  com- 
mand. (Verses  9 to  23.)  This  change  had  taken  place 
in  the  following  manner  : 

1.  He  had  first  been  a most  fierce  persecutor  of  Jesus 
and  his  followers.  (9-11.) 


THE  ROYAL  VISITORS. 


307 


2.  On  his  way  to  Damascus  the  evidence  of  a mirac- 
ulous light,  a miraculous  voice  and  a miraculous  ap- 
pearance of  Jesus  himself,  which  he  could  not  resist, 
had  convinced  him  that  Jesus  was  the  Messiah  of  the 
Scriptures.  (12-15.) 

3.  Jesus  the  Messiah,  in  that  vision,  commanded  him 
to  preach  to  the  Gentiles,  that  they  might  he  saved  also. 
(16-18.)  * 

4.  And  because  he  obeyed  the  words  of  the  Messiah 
and  preached  to  the  Gentiles,  the  Jews  tried  to  kill 
him.  (19-21.) 

5.  But  from  the  time  of  his  change  from  an  enemy 
to  a friend  of  Jesus,  up  to  that  very  day,  there  had  been 
no  heresy;  for  he  had  said  nothing  but  what  the  Jew- 
ish Scriptures  themselves  taught  : that  the  Messiah 
should  suffer  : that  he  should  rise  from  the  dead : that 
he  should  give  the  light  of  religion  to  the  Gentiles  as 
well  as  to  the  Jews.  (22,  23.)  And  these  were  now 
the  things  in  respect  to  which  Paul  claimed  that  he  bore 
witness  to  small  and  to  great.  The  overwhelming  evi- 
dence of  that  miraculous  vision  could  never  be  taken 
from  his  mind.  Jesus  of  Nazareth  was  the  Messiah  of 
tlfe  prophets  and  of  the  law  of  Moses.  He  knew  it ; 
he  believed  it ; and  he  obeyed  the  voice  of  the  Messiah. 

King  Agrippa  could  fully  comprehend  all  this.  All 
the  points  in  Paul’s  speech  he  could  well  understand. 
But  to  the  Roman  Festus,  there  was  much  that  was 
strange  and  unmeaning.  This  strange  vision  of  which 
Paul  spoke : what  was  it  ? And  the  doctrine  of  the 
resurrection  of  the  dead : “ To  the  cold  man  of  the 
world,  as  to  the  inquisitive  Athenians,  it  was  foolish- 
ness.” To  him,  Paul  “ seemed  like  a mad  enthusiast, 
whose  head  had  been  turned  ” by  incessant  study  of 
the  religious  writings  to  which  he  referred.  He  broke 
in,  therefore,  upon  the  Apostle’s  speech : 


308 


{FORTY-SEVENTH  SUNDAY.) 


44  Paul,  thou  art  beside  thyself:  much  learning 
makes  thee  mad.” 

Much  learning  is  literally  4 many  letters  5 — much  study 
is  making  thee  mad.  It  is  not  unlikely  that  in  his  im- 
prisonment Paul  had  other  manuscripts  beside  the  He- 
brew Scriptures ; and  that  he  had  been  diligently  study- 
ing the  4 rolls 5 of  the  prophets  and  of  the  law  and  of 
other  religious  writers.  It  may  be  that  Festus  referred 
to  this  when  he  saw  the  fiery  earnestness  of  this  strange 
prisoner  before  his  royal  guests.  Paul  had  not  been 
speaking  to  Festus,  but  to  Agrippa ; but  with  perfect 
self-possession,  he  calmly  and  earnestly  replies  to  Fes- 
tus : 

64  However  mad  I may  seem  to  thee,  most 
noble  Festus,  my  words  are  most  reasonable 
and  sober,  as  King  Agrippa,  being  a Jew, 
fully  knows  and  understands.  These  things 
were  not  secretly  done,  but  most  openly  and 
publicly.” 

44  Then  turning  again  to  the  Jewish  voluptuary  who 
sat  beside  the  Governor,  he  made  this  solemn  appeal  to 
him : 

44  King  Agrippa,  dost  thou  believe  these  pro-* 
phets  ? I know  that  thou  believest.” 

The  King  had  been  educated  into  full  belief  in  the  in- 
spired prophets  of  the  Hebrews.  The  next  natural 
thought  therefore  must  have  been  and  perhaps  Paul 
was  intending  to  put  it  into  words  : 44  Then  must  thou 
believe  that  Jesus  is  the  Messiah  spoken  of  in  the 
prophets.” 

The  King’s  reply  prevented  him,  and  turned  the  cur- 
rent of  Paul’s  M dress  : 44  Thou  wilt  soon3  persuade  me 

3 “ It  is  universally  admitted  that  the  phrase  rendered  1 almost  ’ can- 
not bear  that  translation.  The  name  ‘ Christian/  of  heathen  coinage, 
in  the  mouth  of  Agrippa,  does  not  imply  any  sincere  or  decided  emo- 


THE  ROYAL  VISITORS. 


309 


to  be  a ‘ Christian.’  ” As  the  word  Christian  cannot 
have  been  an  honorary  name  in  the  mind  of  a Jew  like 
Agrippa,  but  rather  a name  of  contempt,  “ the  words 
were  doubtless  spoken  in  irony  and  contempt.” 

But  Paul  was  not  to  be  put  off  in  this  way.  He 
made  a most  earnest  reply,  as  though  the  King’s  words 
were  spoken  in  earnest  — a reply  which  was  as  com- 
prehensive and  sublime  as  it  was  earnest — u sweeping 
round  the  bench  and  the  audience,  and  ending  with  a 
touching  allusion  to  his  own  captivity 

“ I would  to  God,  that,  whether  soon  or  late, 
whether  with  little  persuasion  or  with  much 
persuasion,  not  only  thou,  but  all  that  hear 
me  this  day,  were  such  as  I am,  except  these 
bonds.” 

“ King  Agrippa  had  no  desire  to  hear  more  : he  rose 
from  his  seat,  with  the  Governor  and  Bernice  and  those 
that  sat  with  them.  As  they  retired,  they  discussed 
the  case.”  They  agreed  that  Paul  had  not  only  done 
nothing  worthy  of  death,  but  nothing  worthy  of  im- 
prisonment. “Agrippa  said  positively  to  Festus  : c This 
man  might  have  been  set  at  liberty,  if  he  had  not  ap- 
pealed to  the  Emperor.’  But  the  appeal  had  been 
made.  There  was  no  retreat  either  for  Festus  or  for 
Paul.”  Festus  had  no  wish  to  keep  Paul  in  bonds,  as 
Felix  had  done,  and  he  only  waited  for  a good  oppor- 
tunity to  send  his  prisoner  to  Pome. 

tion  ; for  he  was  a haughty  and  light-minded  voluptuary.  The  sense 
may  be,  4 really,  without  much  ado,  thou  art  trying  to  make  me  a 
Christian:’  ‘you  would  make  a Christian  of  me,  as  easily  and  in  aa 
off-hand  a way  as  you  were  made  yourself.’  ” — Dn.  Eadie. 


(. FORTY-SEVENTH  SUNDAY.) 


QUESTIONS. 

WHAT  shows  that  Festus  meant  to  make  Paul’s  eloquence 
* " an  entertainment  for  his  guests  ? 

What  prediction  made  to  Paul  had  come  to  pass  ? 

What  associations  added  to  the  force  of  this  prediction  ? 
What  two  powers  were  represented  here  ? 

Did  Festus  say  anything  in  his  speech  which  he  had  not 
already  told  Agrippa  ? 

What  high  testimony  did  he  give  to  Paul’s  character  ? 
Who  was  Augustus  ? Why  called  ‘ my  lord  ’ ? 

Could  Festus  have  helped  doing  this  ‘unreasonable’ 
thing  ? 

What  is  Paul’s  purpose  in  his  speech  ? Why  ? 

What  is  the  introductory  part  of  Paul’s  speech  ? 

Why  was  Paul  more  glad  to  speak  before  Agrippa  than 
before  Festus  ? 

What  is  the  second  part  of  the  speech  ? 

What  is  the  first  point  in  this  part  of  the  argument  ? 
What  circumstances  can  you  state  which  show  that 
Paul  had  been  well  known  to  the  Jews  ? 

What  to  show  that  he  had  been  one  of  the  ‘ stricter  t 
sect’ ? 

What  is  the  second  point  in  this  part  ? 

What  ‘ promise  ’ is  referred  to  ? 

How  did  ‘ the  twelve  tribes  hope  to  come  ’ to  this  prois 
ise  ? 

What  is  meant  by  ‘ instantly  serving  God,’  etc.  ? 

How  was  Paul  accused  for  this  ‘ hope’s  sake  ’ ? 

What  has  the  raising  of  the  dead  to  do  with  this  hope 
What  is  the  third  part  of  the  speech  ? 

How  is  this  connected  with  the  second  part  ? 

What  is  the  first  point  in  this  part  of  the  argument  ? 
IIow  ‘ many  things  ’ are  here  named  which  Paul  did  as 
a persecutor 

What  is  the  second  point  in  this  part  ? • 

(93) 


(. FORTY-SEVENTH  SUNDAY.) 

How  many  things  united  to  force  conviction  on  Paul’s 
mind  ? 

What  is  the  third  point  in  this  part  of  the  speech  ? 

What  was  the  especial  1 purpose  ’ in  Paul’s  conversion  ? 

How  was  Paul  ‘ delivered  from  the  people  and  from  the 
Gentiles  ’ ? 

What  was  God’s  purpose  in  sending  him  to  the  Gen- 
tiles ? 

What  is  meant  by  1 inheritance  among  them,’  etc.  ? 

What  are  the  means  by  which  a Gentile  now  can  obtain 
this  inheritance  ? 

What  is  the  fourth  point  in  this  part  ? 

In  how  many  cities  and  countries  did  Paul  obey  this 
command  ? Why  ? 

Can  a man  ‘repent  of  any  sin  without  ‘turning  to 
God’? 

Are  all  ‘ good  works  ’ ‘ meet  for  repentance  ’ ? 

Show  how  the  fifth  point  sums  up  this  third  part  of  the 
speech. 

What  was  the  one  great  thing  which  Paul  felt  and  en- 
forced in  this  part  of  his  speech  ? 

What  different  effects  did  Paul’s  speaking  produce  on  the 
two  rulers’  minds  ? 

What  reason  may  be  given  why  Festus  thought  Paul 
mad  ? 

What  does  ‘ much  learning  ’ signify  ? 

To  whom  had  Paul  been  speaking  ? 

Explain  the  meaning  of  the  twenty-fifth  and  twenty- 
sixth  verses. 

How  is  the  twenty-eighth  verse  connected  with  the  pre- 
vious speech  ? 

What  is  the  next  natural  thought  ? 

How  was  that  close  of  the  argument  prevented  ? 

Did  Agrippa  mean  that  he  was  on  the  point  of  yielding 
to  Paul’s  arguments? 

Explain  the  force  of  the  Apostle’s  reply. 

Why  did  not  Agrippa  listen  longer  ? 

What  was  the  result  of  the  conference  ? 

(94) 


jFmig-Kgjjilj  jSmtimjr. 


THE  PRISONER  SENT  TO  ROME. 

LESSON. 

Acts  xxvii.  1-13. 

PAUL  was  sent  to  Rome  by  ship.  We  do  not  know 
that  there  were  any  passenger-ships  in  those  days, 
sailing  at  regular  times  between  the  great  cities  of  the 
Mediterranean ; but  there  were  large  numbers  of  mer- 
chant-ships plying  between  all  the  towns  on  the  coasts. 
Even  emperors  themselves  were  compelled  to  sail  in 
these  ships  when  they  took  their  voyages  of  business, 
as  we  know  that,  when  Titus  was  besieging  Jerusalem, 
his  father,  the  Emperor  Vespasian,  took  a merchant- 
ship  at  least  as  far  as  Rhodes,  and  that,  when  he  had 
ended  the  siege  and  hastened  to  Italy,  Titus  himself 
went  by  a merchant-ship  which  touched  at  Rhegium 
and  Puteoli,  places  at  which  Paul  himself  touched  on 
his  voyage.1  “ If  such  was  the  mode  in  which  even 
royal  persons  travelled  from  the  provinces  to  the  metro- 
polis, we  must  of  course  conclude  that  those  who  trav- 
elled on  the  business  of  the  state  must  have  been  con- 
tent to  go  in  the  same  manner.  The  sending  of  state- 
prisoners  to  Rome  from  various  parts  of  the  empire 
was  an  event  of  frequent  occurrence.  Such  groups  of 
prisoners  as  this  which  now  went  aboard  the  ship  at 
Caesarea  must  often  have  left  Caesarea  and  other  eastern 
ports  in  merchant-vessels  bound  for  the  west.” 

It  is  worth  while  to  stop  a moment  and  think  of  the 

* 


1 xxviii.  13. 


THE  PRISONER  SENT  TO  ROME. 


311 


busy  Mediterranean,  and  Rome  as  the  centre  of  its  com- 
merce, to  help  our  thoughts  of  Paul’s  voyage.  The 
many  provinces  on  all  sides  sent  up  to  Rome  their 
many  articles  of  traffic.  From  the  province  of  Africa 
on  the  south  came  “ heavy  cargoes  of  marble  and  gran- 
ite” and  of  furniture-woods.  From  the  coast  of  Asia 
Minor,  on  the  east,  came  the  silks  and  spices  which  had 
been  brought  “ from  beyond  the  Euphrates  to  the  mar- 
kets and  wharves  of  Ephesus.”  From  the  Black  Sea 
came  fish,  and  from  the  Archipelago  ship-loads  of  wine. 
From  the  distant  west,  ships  with  wool  and  other  ar- 
ticles anchored  in  the  harbors  of  Italy.  Egypt  espe- 
cially was  a country  rich  in  the  merchandise  sent  off 
to  the  great  metropolis.  From  the  distant  Indian 
Ocean,  up  the  Red  Sea,  and  then  down  the  valley  of 
the  Nile  to  Alexandria,  poured  the  constant  flow  of 
trade  in  spices,  dyes,  jewels  and  perfumes.  Added 
to  these  articles  of  traffic,  the  ships  of  Alexandria  for 
Rome  and  for  the  north  and  west  were  laden  with 
linen,  paper  and  glass.  And  still  more,  the  great  ar- 
ticle of  trade  which  occupied  many  more  of  its  vessels 
was  the  Egyptian  wheat,  which  grew  along  the  fertile 
banks  of  the  Nile  and  which  helped  to  feed  the  mul- 
titudes of  Italy.  “ The  Egyptian  grain-vessels  were 
usually  bound  for  the  harbor  of  Puteoli,”  and  we  shall 
soon  see  the  Apostle  aboard  one  of  these  very  ships, 
and  at  length  landing  at  that  very  port.2  Besides  the 
larger  vessels  employed  in  this  direct  trade  between  the 
different  provinces  and  with  Rome,  we  must  think  of 
the  multitude  of  smaller  ships  which  were  in  the  coast- 
ing trade,  and  which  did  not  venture  so  boldly  out  on  the 
great  deep. 

It  was  probably  on  one  of  these  coasting-vessels  ther. 

* See  frontispiece  for  illustration  of  tliis  and  the  two  following 
lessons. 


312 


(. FORTY-EIGHTH  SUNDAY.) 


in  port  at  Caesarea,  that  Festus  the  Governor  placed 
Paul.  It  was  a c ship  of  Adramyttium,’  a town  in  My- 
sia  which  Paul  had  himself  passed  when  he  came  down 
from  Phrygia  to  Troas.  It  was  found  that  the  captain 
intended  to  follow  closely  the  coasts  of  ‘Asia,53  a voy- 
age which  would  be  quite  familiar  to  Paul.3 4  Most 
akely,  however,  the  centurion  who  had  charge  of  the 
prisoners  meant  to  sail  in  this  coasting-vessel  only  till 
he  could  find  a larger  and  faster  vessel  bound  more  di- 
rectly for  Italy. 

We  can  see,  therefore,  the  mingled  company  which 
was  gathered  on  the  c ship  of  Adramyttium 5 as  she 
turned  her  prow  towards  the  northern  entrance  of  the 
splendid  stone  harbor  of  Caesarea.  There  were  the 
captain  and  the  crew:  there  were  Julius  the  centurion 
and  his  Roman  soldiers : there  were  Paul,  his  two  com- 
panions, Luke  and  Aristarchus  of  Thessalonica,6  and 
the  other  prisoners  : there  were  the  passengers  bound 
for  longer  and  shorter  voyages.  Once  out  of  the  har- 
bor, the  vessel  stood  to  the  north.  Passing  Mount  Car- 
mel and  Ptolemais  and  Tyre,  the  next  day  she  “ put 
into  Sidon.”  There  were  passengers  to  land,  or  there 
was  something  to  be  added  to  or  taken  from  the  cargo, 
or  the  wind  made  it  more  convenient  to  run  into  this 
harbor. 

In  this  ancient  city,  for  so  many  centuries  connected 
with  Tyre,  there  were  undoubtedly  fellow-disciples. 
Christian  preachers  must  have  visited  this  town  as  one 
of  the  chief  cities  of  Phcenice  f Paul  and  Barnabas  them- 
selves must  have  stoppefl  here,  on  their  way  up  from 
Antioch  to  Jerusalem.7  The  Sidonian  Christians  must 

3 Not  Asia  Minor,  but  th q province  of  Asia.  4 xx.  ] 3-17;  xxi.  1. 

6 Aristarchus  may  have  been  one  of  the  prisoners.  See  Colossians 

iv.  10,  written  after  Paul  reached  Rome. 

6 xi.  19.  7 xv.  3. 


THE  PRISONER  SENT  TO  ROME. 


313 


have  heard  of  Paul’s  landing  at  Tyre  on  his  last  voyage 
from  the  west  to  Jerusalem,  two  years  before.  Through 
the  courtesy  of  the  Roman  centurion,  (who  had  no  doubt 
known  Paul  before  he  left  Cjusarea,)  these  4 friends 5 at 
Sidon  were  permitted  to  show  Paul  kind  attentions. 
Paul  was  permitted  to  go  on  shore  to  meet  them. 

The  ship  met  with  opposite  winds  after  leaving  Sidon. 
44  The  direct  course  from  Sidon  to  the  c coasts  of  Asia 5 
would  have  been  to  the  southward  of  Cyprus,  across 
the  sea  over  which  the  Apostle  sailed  so  prosperously 
two  years  before.”  But  as  the  same  strong  wind  which 
then  drove  the  ship  swiftly  towards  the  east  now  hin- 
dered his  direct  course  to  the  west,  the  captain  took 
the  course  to  the  north  of  Cyprus,  through  the  seas  of 
Cilicia  and  Pamphylia.  There  is  another  reason,  too, 
for  passing  Cyprus  on  the  north.  There  is  a current  in 
the  great  sea  between  Cyprus  and  the  main  shore,  which 
continues  alon^  the  coast  of  Asia  Minor  to  the  Archi- 
pelago  ; and  when  they  should  fall  into  this  current,  the 
progress  of  the  voyage  would  be  easier.  The  whole 
passage  must  have  been  made  by  c tacking 5 against  the 
wind.  Paul  was  in  familiar  waters.  Seleucia  and  Sa- 
lamis  were  on  either  hand  as  they  came  around  the 
eastern  end  of  Cyprus.  The  coast  of  his  native  pro- 
vince, the  high  summits  of  the  mountains  of  Taurus  be- 
hind Tarsus,  the  lofty  cliffs  of  Pamphylia,  the  towns  of 
Attalia  and  Perga  were  slowly  passed,  and  the  ship 
came  to  a harbor  in  Lycia  not  far  from  Patara.8  This 
was  the  harbor  of  Myra,  a city  of  which  little  is  known. 
But  as  at  Patara,  on  his  last  voyage  to  Judea,  Paul 
made  a change  o%hips,  so  at  Myra  the  centurion  trans- 
ferred his  soldiers  and  prisoners  to  another  vessel.  For 
here  at  Myra  the  centurion  found  an  Egyptian  grain- 
ship9  from  Alexandria  bound  for  Italy.  Myra  was  di- 
8 xxi.  1.  9 See  verse  38. 


314 


(. FORTY-EIGHTH  SUNDAY.) 


rectly  north  from  Alexandria ; and  it  is  not  unlikely 
that  the  powerful  west  wind  which  Paul’s  ship  had 
encountered  in  coming  from  Sidon,  had  forced  the 
heavily-laden  Alexandrian  ship  out  of  her  direct  course. 
To  escape  the  fury  of  a head- wind  in  the  open  sea, 
and  to  gain  the  advantage  of  the  shore-current,  she  had 
come  over  to  the  opposite  coast  of  the  Mediterranean. 
Even  in  our  own  day  it  is  no  uncommon  thing  for  ships 
from  Alexandria  coming  westward  to  sail  to  the  north 
for  the  sake  of  the  current.  The  Apostle  was  now  no 
doubt  in  a much  larger  ship.  This  vessel  we  know  was 
able  to  accommodate  two  hundred  and  seventy  six  per- 
sons,10 passengers  and  crew.  But  in  this  heavy-laden 
ship,  and  with  an  adverse  wind,  the  voyage  was  very 
slow.  Patara  and  Rhodes  were  slowly  passed,  and  it  was 
‘ many  days 5 before  Cnidus  was  reached.  Cnidus  had 
a good  harbor ; and  when  they  should  pass  this  pro- 
montory, tl^ey  could  have  no  longer  the  protection  of 
the  coast  nor  the  advantage  of  the  current,  but  would 
meet  the  full  fury  of  the  north-west  wind.  It  was  im- 
possible to  take  the  regular  course  straight  across  the 
Aegean,  past  the  island  of  Cythera.  Instead,  however, 
of  getting  into  shelter  in  this  excellent  harbor  of  Cni- 
dus, the  seamen  hoped  to  run  down  to  the  southern  side 
of  Crete,  and  then,  with  this  long  island  as  a protec- 
tion, to  make  their  way  across  the  mouth  of  the  Arch- 
ipelago. 

Here  therefore  the  course  of  Paul’s  voyage  left  the 
scenes  of  his  former  journeys.  When  once  exposed  to 
the  full  force  of  the  wind,  the  seamen  found  it  a diffi- 
cult task  to  bring  the  ship  around  th%Fend  of  the  island. 
Having  passed  Cape  Salmone,  they  were  able  to  get  on 
slowly,  as  they  had  done  from  Myra  to  Cnidus,  until 


10  Verse  37. 


THE  PRISONER  SENT  TO  ROME. 


PA  5 


they  reached  a place  called  Fair  Havens.  “ There  seems 
to  have  been  no  town  at  Fair  Havens,”  but  only  an  an- 
chorage sheltered  from  the  winds,  near  Lasea.  V ery  like- 
ly the  passengers  and  sailors  visited  Lasea,  and  so  the 
name  came  to  be  mentioned.  Much  time  had  now  been 
spent  since  they  left  Csesarea,  enough  probably  for  the 
ship  in  an  ordinary  voyage  to  have  reached  Rome,  for  the 
time  of  year  had  come  when  it  was  thought  dangerous 
to  try  the  open  sea.  The  Fast  of  the  Atonement  was 
already  past,  which  occurred  near  the  end  of  Septem- 
ber, after  which  time  the  ancients  thought  the  seas  es- 
pecially dangerous,  from  the  storms  which  occurred 
about  that  time.  It  was,  as  we  would  say,  past  the 
equinox,  or  about  the  time  of  the  equinoctial  storm, 
the  time  when  the  severer  storms  set  in.  Paul  warned 
those  who  had  control  of  the  ship  of  the  danger  of 
going  on.  His  good  judgment  taught  him  the  risk  of 
further. exposure  : he  had  had  no  little  experience,  too, 
on  the  sea : perhaps  there  was  also  prophetic  foresight 
of  what  was  to  happen.  It  is  not  surprising,  however, 
that  the  centurion  thought  more  of  the  opinions  of  the 
helmsman  and  of  the  captain11  than  of  his  prisoner. 
Fair  Havens  was  not  well  situated  to  pass  the  winter 
in.  Farther  on  was  Phenice,  which  the  sailors  de- 
scribed as  a good  harbor  and  as  having  a coast  lying 
towards  the  south-west  and  north-west ; and  which 
would  therefore  give  protection,  against  the  violent 
winds  from  those  quarters.  Waiting  then  till  the  fu- 
rious north-west  wind  had  ceased,  and  a gentle  south 
wind  had  sprung  up,  the  sailors  pushed  on  close  along 
the  shore,  not  doubting  but  that  they  would  soon  reach 
Phenice. 

11  In  verse  11  the  word  1 master ' means  the  governor , pilot,  helms- 
man ; and  ‘ owner,’  the  ship-owner,  or  ship-master,  master  and  owner 
often  being  one. 


(. FORTY-EIGHTH  SUNDAY.) 


QUESTIONS. 

TTOW  did  passengers  sail  from  one  country  to  another  in 
^ Paul’s  time  ? 

What  illustrious  examples  are  given  ? 

Did  the  sending  of  state-prisoners  to  Rome  often  occur? 
How  was  Rome  the  centre  of  commerce  ? 

What  was  sent  from  Africa  ? Is  the  continent  of  Africa 
meant  ? 

What  came  from  Asia  Minor  ? Through  what  harbor 
especially  ? 

The  Black  Sea  ? the  iEgean  ? the  West  ? 

Why  did  Egypt  send  so  much  to  Italy  ? 

What  other  articles  from  Alexandria  ? 

What  was  the  Egyptians’  great  article  of  traffic  with 
Italy  ? 

In  what  Italian  harbor  did  these  ships  usually  discharge 
their  cargo  ? 

What  other  vessels  on  the  Mediterranean  besides  these 
larger  ones  ? 

Into  whose  care  did  the  Governor  of  Judea  deliver  Paul? 
How  many  men  had  a centurion  under  him  ? 

What  is  meant  by  Augustus’s  band  ? 

Into  what  kind  of  a ship  was  Paul  taken  ? 

Where  was  Adramyttium  ? 

Do  you  think  Julius  meant  to  sail  in  this  ship  to  Italy  ? 
What  does  ‘ coasts  of  Asia  ’ mean  ? 

When  had  Paul  seen  these  coasts  ? 

What  four  classes  of  persons  were  on  the  ship  ? 

Who  was  Aristarchus  ? 

Why  did  they  touch  at  Sidon  ? What  places  had  they 
passed  ? 

With  what  city  was  Sidon  connected  ? 

Why  must  we  think  there  were  Christians  here  ? 

What  respect  for  Paul  did  Julius  show  ? 

What  js  meant  by  4 sailed  under  Cyprus  ’ ? 

On  which  side  of  Cyprus  was  the  sea  of  Cilicia  ? 

Was  this  the  direct  course? 

(95) 


(. FORTY-EIGHTH  SUNDAY.) 


What  two  reasons  are  there  for  taking  this  course  ? 
What  is  meant  by  4 tacking  ’ ? Why  must  they  have 
4 tacked  ’ ? 

What  familiar  objects  between  Sidon  and  Myra  ? 

Where  was  Myra  ? near  what  city  ? 

What  one  event  connected  with  Paul’s  travels  occurred 
in  both  these  cities  ? 

Why  was  a change  of  ships  now  made  ? 

What  kind  of  a ship  was  the  new  one  ? 

Was  it  larger  or  smaller  than  the  one  Paul  left  ? 

Where  bound  ? From  what  port  ? Its  cargo  ? 

W ere  there  other  passengers  than  those  on  the  Adra- 
myttium  ship  ? 

In  what  direction  was  Alexandria  from  Myra  ? 

Why  should  an  Egyptian  ship  sailing  to  Italy  come  so 
much  out  of  its  way  ? 

What  is  true  of  the  sailing  of  such  ships  now  ? 

Why  was  the  sailing  now  so  slow  ? 

What  two  places  did  they  pass  where  Paul  had  been 
before  ? 

Where  was  Cnidus  ? What  was  it  ? 

Why  did  not  the  ship  stop  at  Cnidus  ? 

What  is  meant  by  4 sailed  under  Crete  ’ ? 

Why  did  they  try  to  do  this  ? 

Why  was  it  difficult  to  pass  Cape  Salmone  ? 

What  was  Fair  Havens  ? Why  is  Lasea  named  ? 

Why  was  sailing  now  dangerous  ? 

What  time  of  the  year  was  it  ? 

What  reason  had  Paul  for  warning  sailors  in  respect  to 
sailing  ? 

Ho  you  think  Paul  meant  this  as  a 'prophecy,  or  as  his 
opinion  ? 

What  does  1 master  and  owner  ’ mean  ? 

Why  were  they  determined  to  push  on  ? 

Hid  they  mean  to  leave  Crete  during  the  winter  ? 

What  is  meant  by  4 lieth  towards  the  south-west  and 
north-west  ’ ? 

What  induced  them  to  leave  Fair  Havens? 

(96) 


Jfnrfg-itmflj  Smtirag, 


STORM  AND  SHIPWRECK. 

LESSOK. 

Acts  xxvii.  13-44. 

LL  on  board  seem  now  to  have  given  up  reaching 


Rome  till  the  next  spring,  but  they  thought  they 
were  certain  of  a good  harbor  to  winter  in.  The  light 
south  wind  was  bearing  the  ship  along  the  coast  of 
Crete  ; the  sailors  were  in  good  spirits  ; the  passengers 
were  filled  with  hope  of  rest  and  safety  ; the  very  land 
about  Phenice  may  have  been  in  sight : when  in  a mo- 
ment all  was  changed.  A swift,  fierce  storm,  one  of 
those  unforeseen  eastern  hurricanes,  struck  the  vessel, 
and  catching  it  in  its  awful  grasp,  made  it  completely 
unmanageable.  It  was  a typhoon , or  euroclydon , (a 
word  meaning  4 east  wind  and  waves,’)  rushing  down 
the  mountainous  sides  of  the  island.1*  The  sea  was  in- 
stantly in  a foam  : the  sails  had  been  4 trimmed  ’ for  a 
favoring  breeze  from  another  direction  : the  ship  would 
not  obey  the  helm,  or,  in  the  expressive  words  of  the 
Geeek,  4 would  not  look  the  wind  in  the  face,’ 2 and  the 
best  the  sailors  could  do,  was  to  let  her  4 scud  before 
the  gale.’  The  vessel  was  of  course  driven  4 off  the 
island ,’  and  so  swiftly  that  the  sailors  feared  they 

1 Our  translation,  4 arose  against  it/  does  not  fully  express  the  sud- 
denness and  fury  which  are  expressed  in  the  Greek  words  :■  the  Greek 
words  mean,  the  tempest  4 cast  itself  dozen  or  along  it  (the  island.)’ 

2 Our  translation,  4 could  not  bear  up  into  the  wind/  has  the  same 
meaning. 


STORM  AND  SHIPWRECK. 


317 

would  be  carried  into  the  dreadful  quicksands3  on  the 
coast  of  Africa.  What  was  now  to  be  done  in  such 
danger?  Four  things  were v done.  First,  the  sailors 
took  advantage  of  the  direction  of  the  storm  to  get  un- 
der the  protection  of  the  little  island,  Clauda.  44  Here 
they,  would  have  the  advantage  of  a temporary  lull  and 
of  less  boisterous  water  for  a few  miles.”  Taking  this 
temporary  advantage,  secondly,  4 5 the  boat  was  hoisted 
on  board? 4 It  would  be  the  height  of  folly,  with  such 
a load  of  passengers,  to  let  go  this  boat,  the  only  hope, 
if  the  ship  should  spring  a bad  leak  ; but  to  get  a boat, 
half  filled  with  water,  over  the  sides  of  the  ship  in  a 
gale  of  wind,  was  4 much  work?  Thirdly,  they  4 under- 
girded ’ the  ship.  This  was  a precaution  against  the 
starting  of  the  planks  in  the  hull  of  the  ship.  4 Helps,’ 
that  is,  ropes  or  cables,  were  passed  around  the  frame 
of  the  ship  to  strengthen  it  and  to  prevent  a leak. 
Fourthly,  they  4 lowered  the  gear? 5 They  either  took 
in  the  sails  or  pulled  down  the  ropes  and  yards.  These 
different  preparations  were  made  so  that  they  might 
4 weather  out  the  storm.’ 

To  one  unacquainted  with  the  sea  it  might  appear 
that  they  Were  now  beaten  in  all  directions  by  the  wind 
and  waves ; and  on  some  maps  the  track  of  the  ship 
laid  down  changes  towards  all  points  of  the  compass ; 
but  it  has  been  shown,  with  no  little  reason,  that  the 
course  was  nearly  straight  till  they  reached  the  island 
on  which  they  were  wrecked.  Sailors  know  quite  well 

3 The  word  4 quicksands,’  in  Greek,  is  4 Syrtis,’  the  name  of  the 
famous  quicksands  on  the  African  coast,  directly  towards  which  the 
ship  was  driving.  See  the  frontispiece  map. 

4 4 To  come  by  the  boat,’  is  to  get  mastery  of  it,  so  as  to  hoist  it 
into  the  ship.  It  must  have  been  towing  behind. 

5 4 Strake  sail,’  verse  17.  Literally,  4 they  lowered  the  gearing' 
The  sails,  or  only  the  ropes  and  yards,  may  be  meant. 


318 


(. FORTY-NINTH  SUNDAY.) 


that  sometimes  it  is  far  more  dangerous  to  let  the  ship 
roll  at  the  mercy  of  the  storm,  or  to  c scud  under  hare 
poles,’  than  it  is  to  head  the  ship  nearly  towards  the 
wind  and  to  spread  a sail.  Any  one  who  knows  what 
the  seamen’s  phrase  c to  tack  ’ means,  knows  that  a ship 
can  be  made  to  sail  in  good  weather  in  a direction 
yearly  contrary ^ to  the  wind ; and  although  this  could 
not  well  be  done  in  a storm,  yet  by  keeping  the  head 
of  the  ship  nearly  towards  the  wind,  and  a small  sail 
set,  the  vessel  would  be  steadier,  and  would  be  driven 
slowly  backward.  This  is  called  c lying  to ,’  (that  is, 
lying  to  the  wind,)  and  the  vessel  is  allowed  to  c drift] 
“ a plan  constantly  resorted  to,  when  the  object  is  not 
so  much  to  make  progress  as  to  outride  the  gale.”  For 
Paul’s  ship  “ to  have  scudded  before  the  gale  under  bare 
poles,  or  under  storm-sails,  would  infallibly  have  strand- 
ed them  in  the  Svrtis.”  But  if  the  vessel  was  laid  to , 
and  was  allowed  to  drift  in  a straight  course,  in  four- 
teen6 days  she  must  have  been  very  near  the  island 
Malta. 

The  second  day  of  the  storm,,  they  c lightened  the 
ship.’  The  vessel  had  probably  sprung  a leak  ; and  the 
crew  cast  overboard  the  things  which  they  ^ould  afford 
to  lose  best.  It  was  not  enough,  however.  The  leak 
continued  ; and  the  third  day,  the  passengers  helped  the 
sailors7  throw  out  all  the  4 tackling  ’ — the  heavy  ropes, 
spars  and  yards — which  could  be  spared.  Then  for 
many  days  and  nights  there  was  great  distress,  such  as 
no  one  who  had  never  been  out  on  the  sea  in  a long  and 
furious,  storm  and  in  a leaking  ship,  can  know.  The 
constant  work  of  passengers  and  crew  by  day  and  by 
night,  the  anxious  watching  against  leak  in  all  parts  of 
the  ship,  the  violent  dashing  of  the  waves  over  the  vcs- 

6 Verse  27. 

T Notice  that  in  verse  18,  1 they  * is  used,  and  in  verse  1 9,  ‘ we.’ 


STORM  AND  SHIPWRECK. 


319 


sel  and  the  pumping  out  of  the  water,  the  throwing 
over  of  one  heavy  article  after  another,  the  ceaseless 
plunging  and  rolling  of  the  vessel,  the  creaking  and 
straining  of  the  ship’s  frame  and  rigging,  the  terror  of 
frightened  passengers  and  the  sickness  of  others,  the 
benumbing  cold  and  wet,  the  wearisome  strain  of  mind 
and  body,  all  united  to  increase  their  helpless  suffering. 
And  besides  ail  this,  the  sky  was  entirely  overcast. 
There  was  neither  sun  nor  stars  to  steer  by.8  “ It  was 
impossible  to  know  how  near  they  might  be  to  the 
most  dangerous  coast.  Yet  the  worst  danger  was  from 
the  leaky  state  of  the  vessel,  and  this  was  so  bad  that 
at  length  they  gave  up  all  hope  of  being  saved,”  and 
thought  the  ship  must  go  down.  Besides  all  this  dis- 
tress, there  could  have  been  no  regular  meals.  Much 
of  the  provisions  might  have  been  spoiled  by  the  sea- 
water ; and  the  food  which  they  had,  must  have  been 
taken  only  between  their  labors.  Despair  was  in  every 
heart  but  one. 

Paul,  the  prisoner,  is  hopeful  and  confident.  While 
the  heathen  sailors  had  been  trying  in  vain  to  save  the 
ship,  praying  no  doubt  to  their  gods,  God,  who  holds 
the  winds,  had  spoken  to  his  Apostle  and  had  answered 
his  prayers.  Paul  had  another  vision,  like  the  one  at 
Troas,9  in  which  God  directed  his  course.  In  the  midst 
of  the  despairing  sailors,  Paul  reminded  them  of  his 
warning  at  F air  Havens,,  not  to  reproach  them,  but  to 
show  that  his  words  were  worthy  of  their  respect  and 
confidence.  And  now  he  declares  that  not  one  of  all 
the  crew  and  passengers  should  be  lost.  Only  the  ship 
would  go  down.  God’s  angel  had  told  him  the  destiny 
of  the  ship  and  those  on  board.  God’s  purpose  that  his 

8 They  had  no  compass,  of  course ; and  the  sun  and  stars  were  the 
reliance  of  the  ancient  helmsman,  when  out  of  sight  of  land  or  at 
night.  9 xtri.  9. 


320 


(. FORTY-NINTH  SUNDAY.) 


Apostle  should  stand  in  the  presence  of  the  Emperor 
should  not  be  defeated.  And  for  Paul’s  sake,  God 
would  preserve  all  his  fellow-voyagers.  We  are  not 
told  whether  the  sailors  believed  that  God  whom  Paul 
believed,  and  took  heart  as  Paul  urged  them  to  do. 
Paul’s  high  hope  could  but  have  made  them  more 
hopeful. 

Still  the  storm  continued.  Day  and  night  followed, 
perhaps  more  than  once.  The  danger  did  not  cease. 
At  length,  it  was  fourteen  long  days  since  they  had 
been  driven  out  into  the  lower  Adriatic  Sea.10  About 
midnight  of  the  fourteenth  night,  as  they  were  tossed 
up  and  down,  athe  sailors  suspected  that  they  were 
nearing  land.”.  As  they  could  not  see,  they  must  have 
heard  the  breaking  of  waves  on  the  shore.  “ The  roar 
of  breakers  is  a peculiar  sound,  which  can  be  detected 
by  a practised  ear,”  although  persons  not  sailors  might 
not  distinguish  it  from  other  sounds  of  a storm.  On 
sounding,  they  found  they  were  rapidly  running  into 
shallower  water.  The  anchors  were  quickly  cleared 
and  cast  out  of  the  stern , which  would  prevent  the  ves- 
sel from  swinging  around.11  How  anxiously  they  must 
have  waited  for  daylight ! Who  could  tell  what  might 
occur  from  the  breaking  of  an  anchor-cable  ? A cold 
rain  was  felling  ; 12  the  wind  was  rattling  the  rigging, 
if  indeed  there  was  rigging  left ; and  no  one  could  yet 
see  the  rocks  or  what  kind  of  shore  was  right  before 
them.  The  ship  itself  might  go  down  before  morning. 
This  the  sailors  knew  better  than  the  passengers  ; and 
in  the  darkness,  and  without  knowing  whither  they 
would  be  carried,  they  selfishly  attempted  to  get  away 

10  Adria  was  the  Adriatic  Sea,  including  then  the  Ionian  Sea. 

11  If  they  had  anchored  like  modern  vessels,  from  the  bow , the  ves- 

sel might  have  swung  around  on  to  rocks,  since  the  wind  was  from 
behind.  12  xxviii.  2. 


STORM  AND  SHIPWRECK. 


321 


from  the  ship  in  the  boat.  Pretending  to  lower  anchors 
from  the  bow , (which  no  doubt  would  have  steadied 
the  ship,)  they  got  the  boat  down  to  the  water’s  edge. 
Paul  saw  the  sailors  were  intending  to  flee  and  to  leave 
the  rest  to  their  fate,  and  his  appeal  to  the  centurion 
stopped  their  selfish  plan.  The  soldiers  instantly  cut 
the  lowering-ropes  ; the  boat  fell,  instantly  filled  with 
water  and  went  to  the  bottom,  or  drifted  off  into  the 
darkness. 

Paul  the  prisoner  now  is  the  chief  and  commanding 
person  in  all  that  large  number.  He  persuades  them 
to  take  food  to  strengthen  them,  himself  setting  the 
example,  reverently  giving  thanks  to  God,  when  all 
others  were  on  the  point  of  despairing.  From  such  a 
heroic  courage,  they  also  took  heart.  Instead  of  giving- 
up  to  despair,  they  now  went  to  work  to  make  the  ship 
as  light  as  possible,  so  as  to  run  her  far  up  on  the  land 
and  from  her  to  get  to  shore.  The  cargo  of  wheat  in  the 
hold,  which  while  tossing  on  the  open  sea  they  proba- 
bly could  not  well  get  at,  they  now  poured  out  into  the 
sea.  When  this  work  of  some  hours  was  done,  the  day 
had  dawned,  and  the  land  could  be  seen.  Ho  one  could 
tell  what  land  it  was  ; but  they  saw  a small  inlet 13  with 
a beach,  into  which  they  resolved  to  thrust  the  ship. 
But  to  do  this  would  require  the  greatest  care.  The 
rudders  (of  which  there  were  two  in  ancient  vessels, 
and  which  were  large,  strong  oars,  at  the  sides  of  the 
stern)  seem  to  have  been  bound  up  out  of  the  way  of 
the  cables,  when  the  anchors  were  cast  out  of  the  stern. 
The  rudder-bands  were  now  unlashed,  the  anchor-cables 
cut,  the  sail  hoisted,  and  the  ship  was  run  aground.  “ It 
does  not  appear  quite  certain  whether  they  exactly  hit 

13  The  word  4 creek,’  in  verse  39,  is  used  in  the  maritime  sense. 

* See  the  Dictionary. 


322 


(. FORTY-NINTH  SUNDAY.) 


the  point  at  which  they  aimed.”  But  the  bow  stuck 
fast  on  a spot  where  two  opposing  seas  had  thrown  up 
a hidden  bank  of  earth  or  sand,  and  the  waves  dashing 
against  each  other  just  there,  the  stern  was  soon  broken 
to  pieces. 

Another  incident  is  given  at  this  point,  cpiite  charac- 
teristic of  Roman  soldiers.  “ The  soldiers  were  answer- 
able  with  their  own  lives  for  their  prisoners,  and  were 
afraid  some  of  them  should  swim  out  and  escape ; and 
therefore,  in  the  spirit  of  true  Roman  cruelty,  they  pro- 
posed to  kill  them  at  once.  Paul’s  influence  over  the 
centurion  was  again  the  means  of  saving  his  own  life 
and  the  life  of  his  fellow-prisoners.  The  centurion 
might  care  little  for  the  rest,  but  he  was  determined  to 
save  Paul.  He  therefore  prevented  the  soldiers  from 
accomplishing  their  heartless  purpose,  and  directed 
those  who  could  swim  ” — soldiers  and  prisoners  togeth- 
er, no  doubt  — to  cast  themselves  into  the  sea  first, 
“ while  the  rest  made  use  of  spars  and  broken  pieces 
of  the  wreck.”  Most  wonderfully,  not  one  of  the  whole 
two  hundred  and  seventy-six  failed  to  reach  the  shore 
through  the  breakers. 


(. FORTY-NINTH  SUNDAY.) 


QUESTIONS. 

WHEN  did  the  ship’s  crew  now  expect  to  reach  Italy  ? 

* * What  was  the  Euroclydon  ? 

What  is  the  meaning  of  the  word  ? 

What  is  meant  by  4 arose  against  it  ’ ? * 

4 The  ship  was  caught  ’ ? 4 could  not  bear  up  into  this 
wind  ’ £ 4 let  her  drive  ’ ? 

Where  was  the  vessel  driven  ? 

What  was  the  first  thing  the  sailors  did  ? 

What  was  the  second  thing  done  ? Why  4 much  work  ’ ? 
What  was  the  third  thing  done  ? Why  ? 

What  was  the  fourth  thing  ? 4 Strake  sail’  ? Why  ? 

Is  it  likely  that  the  wind  now  beat  them  in  all  directions  ? 
What  three  ways  are  there  of  managing  a ship  at  such 
a time  ? Which  is  the  safest  ? 

What  is  4 lying  to  ’ in  a storm  ? 4 drifting  ’ ? 

What  is  the  object  of  permitting  a vessefiTo  drift  ? 

Why  would  it  have  been  unsafe  for  this  ship  to  run  be- 
fore the  gale  ? 

How  long  did  the  ship  drift  ? Where  would  they  have 
been  by  this  time,  if  they  drifted  ? 

What  was  done  the  second  day  of  the  storm  ? ^hy  ? 

What  the  third  day  ? 

How  do  you  know  the  passengers  helped  ? 

What  is  the  4 tackling  ’ ? 

What  circumstances  must  have  united  to  increase  their 
suffering  ? 

How  long  did  this  continue  ? 

Why  did  the  overcast  sky  add  to  their  danger  ? 

What  was  the  danger  worst  of  all  ? 

Did  every  one  yield  to  despair  of  saving  life  ? 

Why  did  not  Paul  yield  ? 

Is  there  anything  in  religion  to  produce  hope  in  great 
dangers  and  trials  ? 

Why  is  ‘long  abstinence’  mentioned  in  the  twenty 'first 
* verse  ? 


(97) 


*v FORTY-NINTH  SUNDAY.) 


Does  it  mean  that  Paul,  or  all,  abstained  ? 

Why  did  Paul  allude  to  his  warning  at  Crete  ? 

How  did  Paul  know  without  this  vision  that  his  own 
life  would  not  be  lost  ? 

Can  you  mention  any  other  instance  of  wicked  men 
preserved  for  the  righteous’  sake  ? 

What  especial  prediction  did  Paul  make  ? 

• The  fourteenth  night  had  come  ’ : fourteenth  after  what  ? 

What  is  meant  by  4 driven  up  and#down  ’ ? 

What  was  4Adria  ’ ? 

How  could  the  sailors  tell  they  were  near  land  ? 

What  did  the  ‘sounding’  show? 

Would  they  be  likely  to  continue  drifting  backwards, 
after  they  thought  land  near  ? 

Why  did  they  cast  the  anchors  lout  of  the  stern ’ ? 

Were  these  anchors  like  our  anchors  ? 

What  does  the  sailors’  attempt  to  get  out  of  the  ship 
’Show  in  respect  to  their  opinion  of  saving  the 
ship  ? 

What  effect  would  casting  anchors  from  the  low  have 
had  ? 

Do  you  suppose  Paul  meant  that  they  had  eaten  nothing  for 
fourteen  days  ? 

Was  not  this  a time  when  thanks  to  God  before  a meal 
might  have  been  omitted,  if  ever  ? 

What  do  the  thirty-sixth  and  thirty-eighth  verses  show  in 
respect  to  the  influence  of  Paul’s  hope  upon  the  ship’s  com- 
pany ? 

Why  didn’t  they  cast  out  the  wheat  before  ? Why 
now  ? 

What  does  ‘creek’  mean?  What  were  the  ‘rudder- 
bands  ’ ? 

Why  should  the  ship  run  aground  ‘where  two  seas 
met  ’ ? 

Why  would  the  waves  be  violent  there  ? 

What  characteristic  of  the  Roman  soldier  is  here  seen  ? 

Why  were  the  prisoners  saved  ? 

How  many  persons  escaped  to  land  ? How  ? 

(08) 


Jfiftictlj  jiun’Erair. 


SICILY  AND  ITALY. 


LESSON.  . 

Acts  xxviii.  1-16. 

mHE  whole  large  number  of  passengers  and  crew  was 
-L  at  length  safe  on  shore.  c Not  a hair’  had  ; fallen  ♦ 
from  the  head  of  any  ’ of  them.  The  wreck  lay  off  on 
the  sunken  sand-bar.  The  loss  had  been  only  4 of  the 
ship.’  Paul’s  predictions  had  been  fulfilled.  They 
were  the  words  of  God  given  to  him  to  utter  to  his 
fellow-men. 

People  were  soon  found.  The  island  was  declared 
to  be  Melita.  Perhaps  the  sailors  themselves  soon  re- 
cognised some  prominent  feature  of  the  island,  by 
which  they  knew  it.  There  were  anciently  two  islands 
of  this  name,  one  of  which  is  now  called  Malta  and  the 
other  Meleda.  Malta  is  no  doubt  the  one  on  which 
Paul  was  wrecked,  although  there  are  those  who  have 
thought  it  was  Meleda.  Meleda  was  far  up  in  the 
Adriatic  Sea,  on  the  coast  of  Xllyricum.  It  would  be 
very  strange  indeed  if  a vessel  could  have  been  driven 
so  far  up  the  gulf,  without  coming  in  conflict  with  any 
island  or  coast.  Why,  too,  should  not  Paul  have  gone 
to  Pome  directly  across  Italy,  instead  of  going  away 
around  by  Sicily,  as  we  shall  see  he  did  ? It  is  by  far 
more  natural  to  suppose  that  Malta  is  the  island  ; and 
there  are  some  strong  reasons  for  believing  that  the  bay 
to  this  day  called  St.  Paul’s  Bay,  was,  as  the  tradition 
declared  it  to  be,  the  place  of  Paul’s  shipwreck. 


324 


SlCIl£r  AND  ITALY. 


The  people  are  said  to  have  been  4 barbarous,’  but  it 
is  not  meant  that  they  were  savage,  uncultivated  and 
cruel.  They  did  not  speak  the  Greek  language ; and 
therefore  to  one  who,  like  Paul  or  Luke,  made  use  of 
the  ordinary  division  of  all  mankind  into  Greeks  and 
barbarians,1  they  were  4 barbarous  people.’  Still  they 
were  as  superstitious  as  they  were  kind.  They  kindled 
a blazing  fire  in  the  cold  October  rain.  It  was  not  sur- 
prising that  Paul,  in  gathering  hastily  a bundle  of  brush- 
wood from  the  wet  ground,  should  not  have  noticed  a 
viper  in  it.  And  when  the  heat  revived  the  reptile 
from  the  stupor  which  the  cold  rain  had  produced,  it 
clung  to  Paul’s  hand.  It  is  not  said  that  Paul  was  bit- 
ten, but  the  superstitious  people  thought,  from  the  na- 
ture of  the  reptile,  that  he  must  be  bitten,  and  that  he 
would  fall  dead.  And  just  as  the  people  of  Lystra  first 
said  Paul  was  a god  and  then  stoned  him  as  a magic- 
worker,  so  the  people  of  Malta  suddenly  changed  from 
calling  Paul  a murderer  to  calling  him  a god.  Paul  of 
course  did  not  permit  them  to  give  him  any  such  title, 
but  preached  to  them  the  same  doctrine  which  he  did 
to  the  Lystrians,  that  he  was  a man  of  like  passions 
with  them,  and  that  there  was  only  one  God,  who  made 
heaven  and  the  earth  and  the  sea.  Yery  soon,  too, 
miracles  were  wrought  to  confirm  the  truth  of  his 
words.  The  father  of  4 the  chief  man  of  the  island,’  at 
whose  house  Paul  and  Luke  and  others  no  doubt  were 
hospitably  entertained,  was  restored  from  an  aggra- 
vated disease.  Publius  may  have  been  the  Roman  gov- 
ernor, for  his  name  is  Roman.  Malta  belonged  to  Rome, 
and  Publius  was  the  4 chief  man  ’ of  the  island.  But  the 
cure  was  wrought  by  prayer  to  that  one  God  whom  Paul 
preached,  and  in  the  name  of  that  Jesus  through  whom 
only,  Paul  everywhere  taught  men  could  be  saved.  The 
1 See  Romans  i.  14  • I.  Corinthians  xiv.  11. 


( FIFTIETH  SUNDAY.) 


325 


healing  of  the  governor’s  father,  or  of  the  father  of  so 
well  known  a man  as  Publius,  was  quickly  known 
throughout  the  little  island,  and  many  other  sufferers, 
brought  to  Paul,  were  healed.  Every  one  who  was 
healed,  heard  also  of  Jesus  the  Messiah,  for  Paul 
wrought  no  cures  in  any  other  name  or  power.  The 
kindness  of  the  people  was  returned  to  them  therefore  : 
health  for  hospitality. 

All  honor  and  attention  were  paid  to  Paul  and  his 
companions  during  his  stay  of  three  months.  Julius  no 
doubt  gave  him  his  liberty.  The  inhabitants,  soldiers, 
passengers,  sailors,  must  have  heard  Paul’s  earnest 
preaching  during  this  providential  delay.  Perhaps 
many  a convert  thanked  God  for  the  blessing  of  the 
shipwreck. 

It  was  soon  known  that  another  Alexandrian  ship 
was  in  a harbor  of  Malta,  passing  the  winter.  At  the 
prow  of  the  vessel  were  sculptured  images  or  painted 
figures  of  the  twin  gods,  the  sons  of  Jupiter,  which  were 
the  sign  or  the  badge  of  the  vessel.  Castor  and  Pollux 
were  the  patron  gods  of  sailors.  The  centurion  put  his 
sailors  and  prisoners  aboard  this  ship,  (for  it  was  bound 
for  Italy,)  and  in  the  month  of  January2  they  were  on 
their  way  towards  Rome.  Sicily  must  have  been  visible 
soon  after  they  set  sail,  the  distant  blue  mountains  rising 
above  the  black  line  of  the  shore.  The  two  promonto- 
ries on  the  south-east  corner  of  the  island  once  passed, 
the  burning  Mount  Etna  was  seen,  fifty  or  sixty  miles  to 
the  north,  lifting  its  cone-like  form,  with  its  plume  of 
smoke,  far  up  into  the  air ; and  the  city  of  Syracuse, 
partly  on  a little  island  in  its  harbor  and  partly  on  the 
shore,  was  directly  before  them.  Syracuse  was  the 
wealthiest  and  largest  town  of  Sicily  ; and  Sicily,  from 
its  abundant  fruits  and  its  immense  harvests  of  wheat, 
2 See  xxvii.  9,  (with  page  315  ;)  xxvii.  27 ; and  xxviii,  11 


$26 


SICILY  AND  ITALY. 


was  called  by  the  Romans,  c the  store-house  of  Italy.’ 
In  the  harbor  and  in  the  town  many  a battle  had  been 
fought  with  revolutionary  parties  and  with  foreign  in- 
vaders. In  Syracuse,  Plato  and  Cicero  had  lived ; in  this 
city,  the  j)oet  Theocritus  and  the  philosopher  Archimedes 
were  born  ; and  here  Archimedes,  at  work  on  a mathe- 
matical problem,  was  killed  by  Roman  soldiers,  when 
the  Roman  army  captured  the  city.  The  beautiful  bay 
swept  around  a circumference  of  five  miles,  and  the  lit- 
tle island  on  which  the  city  had  been  first  built  had  be- 
come gradually  united  by  buildings  to  the  shore.  Here 
the  ship  remained  three  days.  Julius,  the  centurion, 
who  had  been  so  kind  at  Sidon,  and  who  had  learned 
to  respect  Paul  still  more  in  the  storm  and  shipwreck, 
would  not  refuse  to  let  Paul  go  ashore.  In  such  a busy, 
trafficking  city  as  this,  Paul  would  find  hundreds  of 
Jews ; and  if  there  was  an  opportunity  for  Paul  to  meet 
them  in  their  synagogue,  Jesus  the  Messiah  was  cer- 
tainly proclaimed : so  that  the  tradition  may  be  true 
which  says  that  Paul  was  athe  first  founder  of  the 
Sicilian  church.” 

Sailing  out  of  this  splendid  harbor,  the  ship  turned 
her  painted  head  to  the  north,  towards  the  straits  of 
Sicily.  The  wind  does  not  seem  to  have  been  favora- 
ble, for  they  were  obliged  to  make  a circuit.  If  the 
wind  was  in  the  west  and  they  were  close  to  the  shore 
and  the  high  mountains,  u they  were  obliged  to  stand 
out  to  sea  to  fill  their  sails,  and  so  they  came  to  Rhe- 
gium  by  a circuitous  sweep.” 3 The  ship,  which  had  for 
its  protecting  divinities  Castor  and  Pollux,  had  come 
to  a city  over  which  6 the  Great  Twin  Brothers  5 were 
supposed  to  be  protectors.  The  Rhegians  worshipped 

8 A traveller  says  that  u when  he  made  a voyage  from  Syracuse  to 
Rhegium,  the  vessel  in  which  he  sailed  took  a similar  circuit  for  this 
reason.’' 


(. FIFTIETH  SUNDAY.) 


327 


Castor  and  Pollux  as  their  divinity.  At  Rhegium  and 
at  the  Rhegian  Pillars,  twelve  miles  north,  was  the 
regular  crossing-place  from  Italy  to  Sicily.  In  this  an- 
cient port,  the  first  port  of  Italy  at  which  Paul  touched, 
the  ship  staid  one  day,  waiting  for  a favorable  wind  to 
carry  them  through  the  difficult  straits.  The  south 
wind  bore  them  safely  through  the  channel  between 
Scylla  and  Charybdis,  and  in  one  day  to  Puteoli. 


As  they  drew  near  the  point  of  land  which  shut  off 
from  their# view  the  bay  on  which  Puteoli  is  situated, 
they  could  see  more  clearly  the  rich  fields  and  vine-clad 
mountain  sides  of  lower  Italy.  Passing  Cape  Minerva, 
the  magnificent  bay  of  Naples,  celebrated  for  its  wonder- 
ful beauty  by  all  travellers,  ancient  and  modern,  burst 
upon  them.  Back  of  the  middle  point  of  the  curve 
was  Mount  Vesuvius,  not  then  a fiery  volcano,  but 
4 green  and  sunny,’  c with  its  westward  slope  covered 
with  vines.’  “ Little  did  the  Apostle  dream,  when  he 


328 


SICILY  AND  ITALY. 


looked  from  the  vessel’s  deck  to  the  right,  that  a ruin 
like  that  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  hung  over  the  fair 
cities  at  the  base  of  the  mountain,  and  that  the  Jewish 
princess  Drusilla,”  before  whom  he  preached  at  Caesa- 
rea, “ and  her  child,  would  find  their  tomb  in  that  ruin.” 
The  coast  curves  in  most  graceful  forms ; and  at  the 
opposite  end  of  this  magnificent  bay  is  the  little  recess 
in  front  of  Puteoli.  “ In  all  this  wide  and  sunny  ex- 
panse of  blue  waters,  no  part  was  calmer  or  more  beau- 
tiful. Puteoli  was  the  Liverpool  of  Italy.”  In  its  fine 
harbor  and  at  its  piers  lay  the  Alexandrian  grain-ships, 
at  the  end  of  their  long,  heavy  voyages  ; and  it  is  said 
that  crowds  of  idlers  came  down  to  the  pier  to  watch 
these  ships  come  in.  In  this  very  bay,  the  sailors  of 
one  of  these  ships  had  paid  divine  honors  to  the  Em- 
peror Augustus,  saying  that  he  had  made  their  voyages 
safe  and  their  trade  prosperous.  But  now  the  Alexan- 
drian sailors  had  a greater  than  Augustus  on  board 
their  vessel,  the  messenger  of  a kingdom  and  a King 
wThich  were  to  outlast  the  crumbling  foundations  of  his 
mighty  empire.  The  Scripture  story  says  nothing  to 
us  of  the  business  of  the  city,  the  beauty  of  its  surround- 
ing scenery,  the  strength  and  size  of  the  great  piers  in 
the  harbor,  the  mineral  springs  not  far  off,  nothing  of 
the  fact  that  here  armies  embarked  for  Spain,  and  here 
ambassadors  landed  from  Carthage,  but  only  that  Paul 
found  4 brethren  ’ who  wished  him  to  stay  in  Pute- 
oli 4 seven  days.’  Here  too  Christ  had  been  preach- 
ed: here  in  the  distant  West,  disciples  of  Jesus  were 
found,  4 brethren  ’ of  the  one  great  household  of  faith  : 
here  the  famous  Apostle,  who  had  written  his  instruc- 
tive letter  from  Corinth  to  Rome,  was  well  known.  lie 
was  now  a prisoner  in  chains,  escaped  from  shipwreck. 
Julius  permitted  Paul  to  remain.  Why  should  he  not 
favor  the  man  who  had  saved  his  life  ? 


(. FIFTIETH  SUNDAY,) 


329 


To  go  up  from  Puteoli  *to  Rome  was  something  like 
going  from  Liverpool  to  London.  At  a little  distance 
from  Puteoli,  the  great  southern  Roman  state  road 
passed,  connecting  at  Brundusium  with  the  road  across 
Macedonia  to  the  east,  by  a ferry.  After  a short  jour- 
ney from  Puteoli  up  to  Capua,  the  Roman  soldiers  and 
their  prisoners  would  strike  the  very  road  which  Paul 
and  Luke  had  before  trodden  from  Philippi  to  Thessa- 
lonica.  Leaving  the  important  town  of  Capua,  the  sol- 
diers took  up  the  last  stage  of  their  journey  : the  first 
mile-stone  told  them  it  was  c one  hundred  and  twenty- 
five  miles  to  Rome.’  Along  the  stone  pavement,  so 
perfectly  fixed  in  its  place  that  after  hundreds  of  years 
much  of  it  still  remains  perfect  without  repairing,  bver 
arched  bridges,  they  came  down  to  Sinuessa,  on  the 
sea.  Here  the  hills  shut  off  the  view  of  Mount  Vesu- 
vius. Then  around  the  shore  of  another  beautiful  bay, 
they  pass  through  the  “ long  street  of  Formiae,  with  its 
villas  on  the  sea-side  and  above  it,”  where  Cicero  had 
“ one  of  his  favorite  retreats  from  the  turmoil  of  the 
political  world,”  and  where,  in  a palanquin,  he  was  at 
last  assassinated.  Thence,  the  next  principal  town,  is 
Anxur,  on  a bold  coast  of  precipices,  “ with  its  houses 
and  temples  high  above  the  sea.”  Then  the  road  passes 
through  miles  of  marshes,' and  for  twenty  miles  there 
is  a canal  by  its  side,  on  which  the  party  may  have 
rode,  as  the  poet  Horace  once  did,  in  a boat  drawn  by 
mules.  At  Appii  Forum,  “full  of  low  tavern-keepers 
and  boatmen,  th£  mules  were  unfastened ; ” and  there, 
a few  Christian  men,  who  had  heard  that  the  Apostle  had 
landed  at  Puteoli,  and  who  had  hastened  to  meet  him, 
recognized  the  Apostle  in  the  crowd  and  greeted  him 
with  holy  joy  and  thanksgiving.  Ten  miles  further  on, 
at  Three  Taverns,  more  Christians  met  him.  The  weary 
and  worn  Apostle  took  heart  and  strength  when  he  saw 


330 


SICILY  AND  ITALY. 


his  friends,  (perhaps  Aquila  and  Priscilla  were  among 
them,4)  and  devoutly  thanked  God  for  their  comfort  and 
friendship.  With  this  pleasant  company,  the  rest  of 
the  journey  quickly  passed.  Horsemen  and  carriages, 
vehicles  of  all  descriptions,  and  people  of  all  classes, 
increase  rapidly.  The  villas  and  gardens  of  wealthy 
citizens  are  all  along  the  slope  of  the  Alban  hills.  On 
the  upper  side  of  the  road  now  lies  Aricia,  the  last  town 
before  Rome  comes  into  sight ; “ and  on  the  hill-side 
swarms  of  beggars  beset  travellers  as  they  passed.  On 
the  summit  of  the  next  rise,  Paul  of  Tarsus  would  ob- 
tain his  first  view  of  Rome.  No  conspicuous  building, 
rising  above  the  rest,  attracted  the  eye.”  Ancient 
Rome  had  no  dome  nor  tower,  no  cupola  nor  spire. 
From  where  Paul  was,  it  was  one  wide-spread  mass  of 
buildings,  the  dwellings  of  poor  and  rich  mingled  to- 
gether, and  the  temples  and  palaces,  theatres,  colon- 
nades and  baths,  were  not  distinguishable.  After 
descending  to  the  plain,  the  road  is  in  a straight  line, 
“ with  the  sepulchres  of  illustrious  families  on  either 
hand.  The  old  pavement  then  lay  through  gardens 
and  new-built  houses  ; and  throngs  of  people,  in  various 
costumes  and  on  various  errands,  vehicles,  horsemen 
and  foot-passengers,  soldiers  and  laborers,  Romans  and 
foreigners,  became  more  crowded  and  confusing.  The 
houses  grew  closer.  They  were  already  in  Rome.” 
Julius  and  his  prisoners  had  but  to  move  on  under  the 
arch  of  the  gateway,  “ which  was  perpetually  dripping 
with  the  water  of  the  aqueduct  that  went  over  it,”  and 
they  were  within  the  walls  of  the  Imperial  city. 

4 Romans  xvi.  3,  4. 


( FIFTIETH  SUNDAY.) 


* 


QUESTIONS. 

W" HAT  prediction  had  been  fulfilled  ? 

* ? What  two  islands  were  there  called  Melita  ? 

Which  one  of  the  two  do  you  think  this  was  ? 

What  is  meant  by  ‘barbarous  people’  ? 

What  added  to  the  cold  and  wet  ? 

What  time  of  the  year  was  it  ? 

What  shows  the  superstition  of  the  people  ? 

Did  the  viper  come  out  of  the  fire  f 
Did  it  bite  or  sting  Paul  ? 

What  did  the  superstitious  people  think  ? 

Why  did  they  change  their  minds  ? Like  what  other 
people  ? 

What  promise  of  our  Saviour  was  here  fulfilled  ? 

What  did  Paul  probably  say  when  they  gave  him  this 
name  ? 

Who  lived  in  these  ‘ quarters  ’ ? Who  was  he  ? 

To  whom  did  the  island  belong  ? 

While  Paul  was  guest  at  his  house  what  did  he  ? 

How  long  did  Paul  stay  at  the  house  of  Publius  ? 

How  do  we  know  that  many  on  the  island  heard  Jesus  ? 
How  long  was  Paul  in  Malta  ? 

What  attention  was  shown  while  he  staid  ? What 
when  he  departed  ? 

What  ship  was  in  port  on  the  island  ? 

Was  this  harbor  at  the  place  of  shipwreck  ? 

What  is  meant  by  4 whose  sign  ’ ? 

Who  were  Castor  and  Pollux  ? 

How  do  you  know  what  time  of  year  it  was  when  they  again 
set  sail  ? 

What  three  things  were  seen  after  they  left  Malta  ? 
What  was  Syracuse  ? What  was  Sicily  called  ? 

What  historical  events  had  taken  place  in  Syracuse  and 
its  harbor  ? 

What  celebrated  death  occurred  here  ? 

The  bay  ? the  island  ? How  long  in  port  ? 

Did  Paul  probably  go  ashore  ? What  opportunities  ? 
What  tradition? 


{FIFTIETH  SUNDAY.) 

In  what  direction  did  the  ship  sail  from  Syracuse  ? 

Where  was  Rhegium  ? 

What  does  ‘fetched  a compass’  mean  ? 

Why  did  they  fetch  a circuit  ? What  does  a modern 
traveller  say  ? 

What  gods  were  the  supposed  protectors  of  Rhegium  ? 
Rhegium  and  Rhegian  Pillars  ? 

How  long  was  the  ship  at  Rhegium  ? Why  ? 

What  celebrated  strait  ? What  celebrated  dangers  ? 

How  long  was  the  voyage  to  Puteoli  ? 

What  was  to  be  seen  as  they  neared  Cape  Minerva  ? 
What  after  passing  it  ? 

What  mountain  was  visible  ? What  was  it  then  ? 

Who  perished  in  an  eruption  ? What  cities  ? 

Where  was  Puteoli  in  respect  to  Naples  "and  its  bay  ? 
Puteoli  ? its  ships  ? idlers  ? divine  honors  ? 

What  facts  in  respect  to  Puteoli  does  the  Scripture  say 
nothing  of  ? 

How  came  these  brethren  at  Puteoli  ? 

Hid  Paul  tarry  or  did  he  not  ? 

What  road  did  Paul  strike  after  leaving  Puteoli  ? 

At  what  point  have  we  supposed  ? In  what  direction 
from  Puteoli  ? 

What  other  point  on  the  road  was  as  near  as  this  ? 

How  far  was  Capua  from  Rome  ? 

What  is  there  remarkable  about  this  road  ? 

What  was  the  first  place  on  the  coast  ? 

What  was  there  of  interest  at  Formiae  ? Anxur  ? 

What  marshes  further  on  ? What  else  ? 

How  did  the  poet  Horace  once  travel  these  twenty 
miles  ? 

What  did  the  poet  say  Apii  Forum  was  ‘ full  of  ’ ? 

Whom  did  Paul  find  there  ? 

How  far  on  was  Three  Taverns  ? 

Who  may  have  been  among  the  brethren  here  ? 

How  was  Paul  affected  at  seeing  the  Roman  brethren  ? 
The  Alban  Hills  ? Aricia  ? the  view  of  Rome  ? 
Sepulchres  ? throngs  ? horses  ? gateway  ? 

(100) 


ififtn-nrst  Simbajr. 


PAUL’S  RESIDENCE  IN  ROME. 

4|  LESSON. 

Acts  xxviii.  16—31 ; Philippians  i.  13;  iv.  22. 

E cannot  tell  whether  the  centurion  Julius  ordered 


his  soldiers  with  their  prisoners  through  the  nar- 
row streets  to  the  Forum,  and  then  to  the  palace  of  the 
Emperor  and  that  part  of  it  called  the  praetorium , or  to 
the  great  praetorian  camp  outside  the  city  wall.  The 
praetorium  was  the  quarters  of  the  Emperor’s  body- 
guard ; and  as  it  is  likely  that  the  Emperor  would  wish 
his  guard  near  him,  we  may  reasonably  think  that  the 
prsetoriuin  of  which  Paul  writes  from  Rome  to  his 
Christian  friends  at  Philippi1  was  the  barracks  of  the 
Imperial  guard  which  were  attached  to  the  Emperor’s 
palace.  Julius  delivered  up  his  prisoners  to  the  Pre- 
fect of  the  Praetorian  Guard , as  the  Greek  word  means, 
or  to  the  Captain  of  the  (Imperial  or  Emperor’s)  Guard, 
as  this  word  is  properly  translated  into  English.  It  was 
the  duty  of  this  Prefect  “ to  keep  in  custody  all  accused 
persons  who  were  to  be  tried  before  the  Emperor.” 
Here,  on  the  Palatine  Hill,  close  by  the  Forum,  sur- 
rounded by  all  the  illustrious  buildings  of  Rome,  by  all 
the  places  where  the  most  stirring  sce^s  of  Roman 
history  occurred,  Paul  the  prisoner  is  given  up  to  the 

1 The  words,  ‘ in  the  palace in  Philippians  i.  13,  are  in  the  Greek, 
‘ in  the  prcetorium .’  It  is  the  same  word  which  we  saw  was  translated 
‘judgment-hall’  in  chapter  xxiii.  35. 


332 


PAUL'S  RESIDENCE  IN  ROME. 


keeping  of  the  Emperor  Nero’s2  chief  captain.  What 
a prisoner  was  ha  to  be  in  the  power  of  such  an  Em- 
peror ! We  may  well  believe  that  Julius  was  reluctant 
to  give  up  his  prisoner,  from  very  attachment  to  him. 
Nero  had  not  yet  arrived  at  that  degree  of  cruelty  which 
has  made  his  name  a perpetual  scorn  and  terror ; and 
his  prcetoricm prefect  at  this  time  was  jDrobably  Burrus, 
who  was  a good  man.  We  suppose  that  the  statement 
which  Julius  made  in  reference  to  Phil’s  heroic  conduct 
on  the  voyage  from  Judea,  and  the  mtter  of  Festus,  ob- 
tained for  Paul  from  the  captain  of  the  guard,  favors 
which  other  prisoners  did  not  enjoy.  Burrus  soon  per- 
mitted Paul  to  dwell  by  himself : probably  in  some 
other  part  of  the  city,  only  the  soldier  to  whose  arm  he 
was  chained  must  be  with  him  as  his  guard. 

Perhaps  Paul  went  at  first  to  lodge  again  with  Aquila 
and  Priscilla.  Afterwards  he  had  a hired  lodging3  of 
his  own.  He  at  once  inquired  what  was  the  state  of 
the  church  in  the  city.  As  the  Emperor  Claudius  was 
dead,  who  some  years  before  had  driven  the  Jews  from 
Rome,4  no  doubt  many  other  Jews  besides  Aquila  and 
Priscilla  returned  to  Rome.  The  friends  to  whom  he 
sent  his  greetings  from  Corinth  may  have  been  Jews 
expelled  from  Rome  and  converted  by  Paul’s  preach- 
ing while  absent.  There  was  Epenetus,  one  of  the  first 
converted  in  Acliaia,  and  many  others  with  Greek 
names,  who  may  have  been  converted  while  away  from 
Italy.5  And  there  were  women,  too.  There  were  the 
kind-hearted  Mary,  the  beloved  Persis,  the  working 
Tryphena  and  Trypliosa,  and  the  respected  mother  of 
• 

2 Claudius,  who  was  Emperor  when  Paul  was  at  Corinth  the  first 
time  (xviii.  2,)  was  now  dead.  Nero  was  Emperor. 

3 Notice  the  difference  between  1 lodging,’  in  verse  23,  and  ‘ own 

hired  house/  in  verse  30.  4 xviii.  2. 

& See  for  all  these  names  Pom.  xvi.  5-15. 


{FIFTY-FIRST  SUNDAY.) 


333 


Rufus.  Many  others  now,  we  may  believe,  had  been 
gathered  into  the  church  of  Christ.  And  all  of  them 
had  received  much  instruction  and  help  from  Paul, 
either  directly  from  his  preaching  in  other  cities  or 
from  his  epistle  to  the  Roman  Christians.  They  must 
have  heard  of  his  seizure  at  Jerusalem  and  of  his  im- 
prisonment at  Caesarea,  and  must  have  watched  with 
eagerness  when  the  new  Governor  Festus  was  sent  to 
the  province  of  Judea,  to  see  what  would  become  of 
Paul.  They  were  expecting  that  he  would  make  that 
visit  which  he  had  promised  them,6  if  he  should  be  re- 
leased. Perhaps  they  had  heard  of  his  appeal  to  the 
Emperor.  Perhaps  they  were  expecting  him  as  a pri- 
soner, although  they  may  not  have  known  that  he  was 
a prisoner  till  the  news  came  that  he  was  at  Puteoli. 

But  although  there  was  already  a Christian  church  in 
Rome,  there  were  also  multitudes  of  unconverted  Jews. 
They  all  lived  in  a separate  part  of  the  city,  across  the 
river  Tiber.  They  were  not  now  cruelly  treated,  but 
had  returned  from  the  exile  of  Claudius,  to  live  for  a 
while  in  peace  ; for  “ in  the  early  years  of  Hero,  which 
were  distinguished  for  a mild  and  lenient  government 
of  the  empire,  the  Jews  in  Rome  seem  to  have  enjoyed 
complete  toleration,  and  to  have  been  a numerous, 
wealthy  and  influential  community.”  In  Rome,  there- 
fore, as  everywhere  else,  Paul  spoke  to  his  own  coun- 
trymen first.  He  had  been  in  Rome  only  three  days, 
when  he  sent  for  the  principal  men  among  the  Jews,  to 
tell  them  why  he,  their  fellow-countryman,  was  a pri- 
soner, and  waiting  a trial  before  the  Emperor.  These 
Roman  Jews  might  already  have  prejudices  against  the 
Preacher  to  the  Gentiles.  Or  they  might  think  that, 
as  he  had  appealed  from  the  Jewish  law  to  the  Roman, 
had  refused  to  go  to  Jerusalem  to  be  tried  and  had 


6 Rom.  xv.  24. 


334 


PAULS  RESIDENCE  IN  ROME. 


preferred  to  come  to  Rome,  that  Paul  was  false  to  his 
own  country  and  nation.  Paul  sets  the  whole  matter 
right  at  once,  by  declaring  that  he  was  forced  to  appeal 
to  the  Emperor.  In  his  address  to  them,  Paul  declares, 
(1.)  His  innocence  of  the  charges  made  against  him. 
(Verse  17.)  (2.)  That  he  would  have  been  acquitted  at 

Caesarea,  if  the  Jews  had  not  opposed  him  contrary  to 
all  law.  (Verse  18.)  (3.)  That  he  had  no  complaint  to 

make  of  a just  trial  by  tine  laws  of  his  own  nation,  but 
that  the  unlaioful  opposition  of  the  Jews  had  forced 
him  to  protect  himself  by  appealing  to  the  Roman  law 
and  to  Caesar.  (Verse  19.)  (4.)  That  so  far  was  he 

from  disrespecting  the  laws  and  customs  of  his  nation, 
that  his  only  crime  was  believing  that  God  would  de- 
liver his  people  by  the  Messiah,  the  Hope  of  Israel. 
“And  therefore  he  said,  ‘Men  and  brethren,  for  the 
Hope  of  Israel  I am  hound  with  this  chain?  ” 

Their  answer  was  comforting  and  encouraging  to 
Paul.  “ They  had  received  no  written  communication 
from  Judea  concerning  him;”  and  none  of  the  Jewish 
brethren  who  had  arrived  at  Rome  had  spoken  any  evil 
of  him.  They  had  therefore  no  accusation  to  make 
against  Paul ; but  they  wished  to  hear  him  speak  of  the 
doctrines  which  he  taught.  They  said  that  these  doc- 
trines of  Jesus  were  unpopular  everywhere  among  the 
Jews,  but  as  Paul  was  the  one  great  preacher  of  these 
doctrines,  they  would  be  glad  to  hear  from  him  the 
truth  in  respect  to  them.  A day  was  therefore  ap- 
pointed for  this  purpose,  and  a meeting,  to  be  held  at 
Paul’s  lodgings. 

On  that  day  Paul  spoke  long  and  earnestly  to  the  as- 
sembled audience.  His  subject  was  the  same  great 
subject  which  he  had  preached  about  at  Antioch  in 
Pisidia  and  at  all  other  places : Jesus  of  Nazareth,  the 
Messiah  The  proofs  were  shown  in  the  prophets  and 


(. FIFTY-FIRST  SUNDAY,) 


335 


in  the  law  of  Moses.  All  the  day  long  the  earnest  dis- 
cussion between  Paul  and  the  Jews  continued.  Some 
were  convinced.  Some  would  not  believe,  but  it  was 
because  they  were  not  willing  to  be  convinced;  Towards 
evening  those  who  disbelieved  were  just  about  to  with- 
draw, when  Paul  solemnly  warned  them  of  the  awful 
sin  of  closing  their  eyes  to  the  light  and  their  ears  to 
the  truth.  He  earnestly  warned  them  with  those  awful 
words  which  Jesus  himself  had  quoted7  from  Isaiah  in 
respect  to  the  stubborn  and  wilful ; and  warned  them 
also  that  the  salvation  which  was  intended  for  them 
would,  if  they  rejected  it,  be  given  to  the  Gentiles.  And 
so  the  separation  of  the  Apostle  from  the  Roman  Jews 
took  place,  they  withdrawing  to  dispute  among  them- 
selves about  this  new  c sect,’  and  Paul  remaining  to 
preach  Jesus  and  his  salvation  to  all  who  would  hear. 

Burr  us  permitted  Paul  now  to  hire  a house  of  his 
own,  and  to  preach  in  it  to  all  who  chose  to  come. 
How  strangely  God  had  ordered  Paul’s  career  and  an- 
swered his  prayers  ! The  desire  of  his  heart  for  years 
had  been  to  visit  Rome,  and  to  preach  the  Gospel  there. 
He  had  come  to  Rome — how  differently  from  what  lie 
expected ! He  was  permitted  to  preach  in  Rome  for 
two  whole  years,  as  freely  as  at  Corinth  or  at  Ephesus. 
Ho  man  could  harm  him;  no  enemy  could  persecute 
him ; for  he  was  under  the  protection  of  the  Roman 
Government,  the  strong  arm  of  the  Praetorian  Prefect 
supporting  and  sustaining  him.  “ We  must  not  forget, 
however,  that  he  was  still  a prisoner  under  military 
custody,  chained  by  the  arm,  both  day  and  night,  to 
one  of  the  Imperial  body-guard,  and  thus  subjected  to 
the  rudeness  and  caprice  of  an  insolent  soldiery.” 
Who  can  say  that  even  the  soldiers  chained  to  his  side 


7 Matthew  xiii.  14,  15 ; Isaiah  yi.  9,  10. 


336 


PAUL'S  RESIDENCE  IN  ROME . 


were  not  subdued  by  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  exemplified 
in  the  preaching  and  in  the  life  of  the  Great  Apostle  ? 

But  though  Paul  was  permitted  to  preach  for  so  long 
a time,  yet  his  trial  was  delayed.  Two  years  seem  a 
long  time  for  a prisoner  to  wait  at  the  very  door  of  the 
Emperor  for  a decision  on  the  charges  against  him. 
Four  reasons  may  be  given  for  this  delay.  First.  The 
Emperor  might  postpone  the  trial  at  his  own  pleasure. 
Secondly.  The  prosecutors  might  not  have  reached 
Rome.  “ The  Roman  courts  required  the  personal 
presence  of  the  prosecutor.”  If  the  prosecuting  Jews 
from  Syria  did  not  set  sail  till  spring  or  summer,  they 
would  not  reach  Rome  till  the  summer  or  autumn  after- 
wards. If  the  prosecutor  did  not  appear,  the  law  at 
this  time  did  not  bring  the  prisoner  to  the  bar  and 
acquit  him,  but  was  very  indifferent  about  the  time 
during  which  he  was  kept  in  prison.  Thirdly.  The 
witnesses  might  have  been  delayed.  The  evidence  which 
failed  at  Caesarea  would  be  likely  to  fail  at  Romq.;  and 
the  Jews  might  demand  time  to  bring  more  witnesses. 
The  charge  of  sedition  brought  against  Paul  was  that  he 
had  excited  sedition,  not  in  one  place  only,  but  through- 
out the  world,8  that  is,  everywhere  throughout  the 
empire,  and  time  might  be  required  to  collect  witnesses 
from  Judea,  from  Syria,  from  Cilicia,  from  Pisidia,  from 
Macedonia,  from  Achaia,  from  “ all  the  cities  from  Da- 
mascus to  Ephesus.”  This  would  take  a year  or  more. 
Fourthly.  The  official  notice  of  the  case , sent  by  Festus, 
might  have  been  lost  in  the  shipVreck  at  Malta.  No 
case  of  appeal  to  the  Emperor  could  be  tried  without 
such  a notice.  It  would  take  no  little  time  to  send  to 
Festus  for  a new  notice. 

Paul  was  not  only  preaching  during  all  this  time,  but 
caring  personally  for  his  converted  friends  in  Rome, 

8 xxiv.  5. 


(. FIFTY-FIRST  SUNDAY.) 


337 


and  instructing  his  converts  in  distant  countries  and 
cities.  Letters  and  messengers  were  sent  from  the 
‘ hired  house 5 in  Rome  to  the  churches  over  which  he 
watched  with  such  tender  care.  During  these  two 
years  were  undoubtedly  written 

The  Epistle  to  the  Colossia:nts  ; and  by  the  mes- 
senger who  carried  it  to  Colosse  was  sent  also 

The  Epistle  to  Philemon,  who  is  thought  to  have 
lived  in  Colosse ; 

The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians  ; and 
The  Epistle  to  the  Philip^ians. 

Paul  was  not  without  his  near  and  intimate  friends 
at  this  time.  Near  him  in  the  city  must  have  resided 
some  of  those  faithful  companions  who  were  true  to 
him  in  adversity.  Timothy  was  with  him  perhaps  in 
his  own  house.9  Luke,  his  fellow-traveller  through  the 
long  and  fearful  voyage,  was  there  also  and  was  re- 
membered to  the  brethren  of  Colosse10  in  the  letter. 
Tychicus,  who  five  years  before  had  travelled  with  him 
from  Corinth  through  Troas  to  Ephesus,11  was  his  mes- 
senger to  carry  his  letters  to  Ephesus  and  to  Colosse.12 
Mark,  whom  Paul  would  not  take  with  him  on  his 
second  journey,  was  again  with  him.13  Demas,  who 
afterwards  forsook  him  for  his  love  for  the  world,  was 
there.14  Aristarchus,13  who,  when  at  Ephesus,  had  been 
carried  by  the  mob  into  the  theatre,  and  who  came  with 
Paul  from  Caesarea,15  and  Epaphras,16  were  his  fellow- 
prisoners.  His  imprisonment  was  cheered,  too,  by  an 
occasional  visit  of  a Christian  brother  from  some  one 
of  the  many  places  in  which  he  preached,  as  when  the 

9 Col.  i.  1,  2 ; Philemon  1 ; Philip,  i.  1. 

10  Col.  iv.  14 ; Philemon  24.  11  Acts  xx.  4. 

12  Eph.  vi.  21,  22 ; Col.  iv.  7,  8.  13  Col.  iv.  10  ; Philemon  24. 

14  Phil.  24  ; Col.  iv.  14 ; II.  Tim.  iv.  10.  • 

15  Acts  xix.  29  ; xxvii.  2.  16  Col.  i.  7 ; Philemon  23. 


338 


PAUL'S  RESIDENCE  IN  ROME. 


warm-hearted  Epaphroditus  of  Philippi  came  to  Paul, 
bringing  him  a present  of  contributions  for  his  sup- 
port,17 and  bearing  back  with  him,  when  he  had  re- 
covered from  sickness,  the  Letter  to  his  steadfast  and 
much  praised  Christian  friends  in  Philippi.18 

17  Philip,  iv.  18.  See  the  margin. 

1K  Philip,  ii.  25-30.  The  Epistle  to  Philippi  is  full  of  praise,  and 
has  hardly  any  censure.  The  simple-hearted  faith  of  Lydia  and  of  the 
jailer  was  enduring  in  its  effects. 


(. FIFTY-FIRST  SUNDAY.) 


QUESTIONS. 

* 

HpO  what  place  in  Rome  was  Paul  taken? 

A What  does  the  verse  in  Philippians  mean  ? 

What  two  places  were  there  with  this  name  ? 

Who  was  the  Captain  of  the  Guard  ? What  was  his 
duty  ? 

Who  was  Emperor  at  this  time  ? 

Who  was  ‘Captain  of  the  Guard ’ during  these  years  ? 
Why  was  Paul  permitted  to  dwell  by  himself  ? Who 
was  with  him  ? 

What  difference  between  the  Apostle’s  dwelling  at  first 
and  afterwards  ? 

Why  had  many  Jews  no  doubt  returned  to  Rome  ? 

What  converts  perhaps  ? What  women  ? 

What  instruction  had  all  the  Roman  Christians  received 
from  Paul  ? 

What  other  Jews  were  there  in  Rome  ? Where  did  they 
live  ? Why  were  they  not  persecuted  ? 

Why  did  Paul  send  for  them  ? What  persons  among 
them  ? 

What  is  the  first  point  in  Paul’s  address  to  them  ? 

What  is  the  second  point  ? 

What  is  the  third  point  ? ‘ Spake  against  it : ’ against 

what  ? 

What  does  ‘had  aught  to  accuse  my  nation  of’  mean  ? 
What  is  the  fourth  point  ? 

What  is  meant  by  the  Hope  of  Israel  ? 

How  was  it  that  Paul  was  a prisoner  ‘ for  this  cause  ’ ? 
What  kind  of  answer  did  the  J ews  make  to  Paul  ? 

Do  you  think  they  had  heard  nothing  at  all  of  Paul’s 
arrest  and  trial  ? 

What  kind  of  communication  may  ‘ letters  * mean  ? 
What  did  they  wish  to  hear  from  Paul  ? Why  ? 

What  arrangement  was  made  ? ^ 

Was  there  no  synagogue  in  Rome  ? 

Show  how  the  argument  of  Paul’s  address  was  the  same 
as  at  Antioch  in  Pisidia. 

How  long  did  the  discussion  continue  ? 

(101) 


(. FIFTY-FIRST  SUNDAY.) 

What  was  the  result  ? 

What  warning  did  the  Apostle  give  ? To  whom  ? 

Who  used  this  warning  before  Paul  ? From  what  pro- 
phet is  it  taken  ? 

What  does  4 hearing,  ye  shall  hear,’  mean  ? 

What  is  the  meaning  of  4 waxed  gross  ’ ? 

Did  God  mean  to  •prevent  their  being  converted  ? 

What  prediction  is  there  in  the  last  words  of  this  warn- 
ing ? 

What  especial  force  was  there  in  such  a prediction  in 
Rome  ? 

Has  the  prediction  of  this  warning  been  fulfilled  in  re- 
spect to  both  Jews  and  Gentiles  ? 

To  what  Gentiles  now  does  this  warning  apply  as  well 
as  to  those  Jews  ? 

What  division  took  place  after  this  time  ? 

Where  did  Paul  dwell  ? Why  must  Roman  soldiers  have 
heard  him  preach  ? 

What  especial  advantage  for  preaching  had  Paul  now  ? 

What  three  reasons  may  be  given  why  Paul’s  trial  was  de- 
layed so  long  ? 

What  else  besides  preaching  was  Paul  doing  during  this 
time  ? 

What  two  Epistles  were  probably  sent  together  ? Why  ? 

What  other  two  Epistles  are  thought  to  have  been  writ- 
ten there  ? 

How  do  you  show  that  Timothy  was  with  Paul  ? 

What  other  fellow-traveller? 

Who  carried  the  letters  to  Ephesus  and  Colosse  ? Show 
it. 

What  early  companion  was  in  Rome  ? What  4 fellow- 
prisoners  ’ ? 

Who  visited  Paul  in  his  imprisonment  ? 

To  what  place  did  he  carry  an  Epistle  ? 
m Prove  that  he  had  been  sick. 

What  is  a pleasant  peculiarity  of  this  Epistle? 

From  what  persons  in  Rome  did  Paul  send  salutations 
to  these  Christian  brethren  ? 

(102) 


Jrifhr-s.ec0iib  Sxm’Ctair. 


TUB  TBIAL  AND  THE  EXECUTION. 


LESSOR. 

Acrs  xxviii.  30,  31;  Philippians  i.  12-14,  iv.  22;  Philemon  9; 
II.  Timothy  iv.  6-8,  16,  17. 

WHEREVER  Paul’s  residence  was  in  the  city,  there 
was  a Roman  soldier  always  with  him.  Of  course 
it  could  not  always  be  the  same  soldier;  and  in  the 
course  of  two  years,  many  changes  were  made.  In  this 
way  many  soldiers  saw  Paul  and  knew  him.  Some- 
times too  he  went  perhaps  to  the  barracks  of  the  Prae- 
torian Guard,  whether  the  Prcetorium  was  near  the 
palace  of  the  Emperor  or  was  a camp  without  the  city. 
So  remarkable  a prisoner  must  have  excited  great  at- 
tention and  great  talk  among  the  soldiers.  At  length 
Paul  could  write  what  he  did  to  his  Christian  friends 
at  Philippi : that  his  troubles  had  helped  the  preaching 
of  the  Gospel,  for  his  imprisonment  for  Christ’s  sake 
was  well  known  in  all  the  prcetorium  : 1 that  his  Christ- 
ian brethren  were  more  bold  to  speak  out  for  Christ, 
on  account  of  the  well-known  fact  of  his  imprisonment 
and  the  cause  of  it.  God’s  wise  and  mysterious  pur- 
pose was  now  seen  in  sending  Paul  as  a prisoner  to 
Rome.  How  could  he  in  any  other  way  have  gotten 
into  the  Emperor’s  very  household  ? But  now  converts 
were  made  even  among  the  Emperor’s  guard  or  the 
Emperor’s  servants.  Cruel  soldiers,  under  their  still 
more  cruel  master,  Hero,  sent  by  him  perhaps  to  do 


1 1 In  all  the  palace  in  the  Greek,  ‘ in  all  the  prcetorium .’ 


340 


THE  TRIAL  AND  THE  EXECUTION. 


some  heartless  murder  or  barbarous  injustice,  must  have 
been  surprised  at  the  uniform  goodness  of  such  a man, 
and  tenderly  touched  by  the  Christian  love  which  bound 
Paul  and  his  converts  together.  Servants  of  the  royal 
family,  familiar  with  the  crime  and  the  shame  of  the 
Emperor’s  palace,  and  disgusted  with  all  the  horrible 
vice  they  saw,  may  have  heard  the  words  of  the  aged 
and  venerable  Paul,  telling  of  another  and  a better  life, 
of  sins  forgiven  and  real  happiness  received  through 
Jesus  the  Messiah.  Whoever  these  converts  c of  Caesar’s 
household  ’ were,  they  sent  their  Christian  salutations  to 
their  brethren  of  Philippi  in  the  letter  Paul  sent  by 
Epaphroditus. 

Nero  was  already  growing  more  public  in  his  acts  of 
cruelty.  He  had  divorced  and  murdered  one  wife  to 
marry  another.  The  wicked  woman  who  was  now  his 
Empress,  professed  to  be  a proselyte  to  the  Jewish  re- 
ligion ; and  any  man  of  less  courage  than  Paul  might 
have  trembled  when  he  thought  that  he  was  soon  to  be 
tried  by  an  unprincipled  Emperor,  whose  unscrupulous 
wife  might  eagerly  listen  to  the  accusations  of  his  ene- 
mies. 

We  have  now  come  to  the  end  of  the  Acts  of  the 
Apostles.  It  did  not  seem  best  to  the  spirit  of  inspira, 
tion  that  the  last  years  of  Paul’s  life  and  his  death 
should  be  described  in  the  sacred  Scriptures.  Yet  how 
eagerly  we  desire  to  know  how  the  last  hours  of  the 
great  Apostle’s  life  were  spent,  what  kind  of  a death 
he  died  and  in  what  manner  he  met  death.  It  is  surely 
not  wrong  for  us  to  gather  together  what  testimony 
we  can  about  these  things,  and  so  complete  the  biogra- 
phy of  this  great  man.2 

2 This  testimony  is  gathered  from  those  writers  in  the  first  centu- 
ries, called  the  early  Christian  Fathers.  There  have  been  two  opin- 


(. FIFTY-SECOND  SUNDAY.) 


341 


44  It  was  universally  believed  by  the  ancient  Church 
that  Paul’s  appeal  to  Caesar  ended  successfully ; that  he 
was  acquitted ; and  that  he  spent  some  years  in  free- 
dom 4 before  he  was  again  imprisoned  and  condemned.’ 
Though  there  is  not  very  much  evidence  on  this  subject, 
44  it  is  all  one  way .”  3 According  to  this  supposition, 
the  story  of  the  rest  of  his  life  will  be  given,  dividing 
it  into  three  parts : his  first  trial : his  absence  from 
Rome  : his  arrest  and  second  trial , and  condemnation . 

After  the  long  delay  of  two  years,  it  is  supposed 
Paul’s  trial  was  at  length  ordered  by  the  Emperor. 
The  ginperors  Tiberius  and  Claudius  usually  heard  ap- 
peals made  to  them  in  the  Forum  ; but  Nero  held  his 
great  tribunal  in  the  Imperial  Palace,  on  the  Palatine 
Hill.  There,  44  at  one  end  of  a splendid  hall,  lined  with 
the  precious  marbles  of  Egypt  and  of  Lybia,  we  must 
imagine  the  Caesar  seated.”  Around  him,  we  see  twenty 
counsellors,  men  of  the  highest  rank.  Two  are  Con- 
suls, others  are  high  magistrates  of  Rome  and  the  rest 
are  Senators.  44  Over  this  distinguished  bench  of  judges, 
presided  the  Absolute  Ruler  of  the  whole  civilized 
world,”  Caesar  Nero,  whose  terrible  power  made  men 
tremble  with  fear  and  horror,  whose  vices  made  them 
despise  him,  whose  murder  of  his  wife  and  mother  and 
adopted  brother  was  only  the  beginning  of  more  general 
cruelty  throughout  Italy,  and  whose  pitiable  love  of 

ions  among  learned  men  in  respect  to  the  time  of  Paul’s  death,  one 
class  holding  that  Paul  was  executed  at  the  end  of  his  first  imprison- 
ment, the  other  that  he  lived  some  years  after  his  first  trial,  and. was 
executed  after  a second  trial.  There  is  a general  and  substantial 
agreement  in  respect  to  the  fact  and  the  method  of  Paul’s  execution, 
and  no  contradiction ; and  we  have  given  the  opinion  of  those  who 
believe  there  was  a second  imprisonment,  so  as  to  give  the  fuller  ac- 
count of  the  two.  The  lesson  would  be  made  too  long  by  giving  quo- 
tations from  the  fathers.  The  principal  names  are,  Clement,  Tertul- 
lian,  Eusebius,  Chrysostom  and  Jerome. 


342 


THE  TRIAL  AND  THE  EXECUTION 


vulgar  applause  led  him  to  degrade  himself  by  “ pub- 
licly performing  as  a musician  on  the  stage  and  as  a 
charioteer  in  the  races.”  # 

“ Before  the  tribunal  of  this  blood-stained  adulterer, 
Paul  the  Apostle  was  now  brought  in  fetters,  by  his 
military  guard.”  Paul  did  not  quail.  God,  who  guard- 
ed his  life,  was  greater  than  Nero  ; and  in  God  was  his 
trust.  The  prosecutor  was  called  to  bring  forward  his 
witnesses.  Proof  of  the  charges  was  required  : that  he 
had  disturbed  the  worship  of  the  Jews,  secured  to  them 
by  law ; that  he  had  polluted  their  temple ; that  he 
had  broken  the  peace  of  the  empire  by  stirring  u^sedi- 
tion  in  many  cities,  as  the  ringleader  of  the  Nazarene 
sect.  The  last  charge  would  be  considered  a solemn 
crime  by  the  body  of  counsellors  and  by  the  Emperor. 
Perhaps  there  were  witnesses  from  Jerusalem,  from 
Ephesus,  from  Corinth,  to  give  testimony  against  him. 
Perhaps  another  orator,  like  Tertullus,  complimented 
and  flattered  the  Emperor,  while  he  painted  in  dark 
colors  the  great  offences  of  Paul.  From  his  previous 
speeches,  we  can  think  how  Paul  would  reply.  The 
testimony  of  those  present  with  him  in  the  temple, 
would  show  that  he  did  not  profane  the  temple.  He 
would  show  that  he  had  reverenced  and  had  not  vio- 
lated the  law  of  the  Jewish  religion  ; that  he  belonged 
to  one  of  several  sects  of  the  Jews.  He  would  prove 
that  his  teachings  everywhere,  in  his  letters  as  well  as 
in  his  preaching,  had  been  to  submit  to  the  law  of  the 
empire.  The  very  letter  he  had  sent  to  Rome  to  his 
friends,  (and  which  may  have  been  shown  in  the  court,) 
instead  of  stirring  up  sedition  against  the  government, 
had  taught  them  to  submit  to  the  c poicers  that  be .’ 3 It 
may  be  that  he  spoke  again  of  the  doctrines  of  his  sect, 


3 Romans  xiii.  1. 


{FIFTY-SECOND  SUNDAY.) 


343 


and  reasoned  of  resurrection,  righteousness,  temperance 
and  judgment  to  come.  Nero  was  too  much  hardened 
in  crime  and  shame  to  tremble,  like  Felix,  at  these 
awful  realities. 

“ When  both  sides  had  been  heard,  and  the  witnesses 
all  examined  and  cross-examined,  (a  process  which  per- 
haps  lasted  several  days,)  the  judgment  of  the  court 
was  taken.  Each  of  the  counsellors  gave  his  opinion  in 
writing  to  the  Emperor,  who  never  discussed  the  judg- 
ment with  his  counsellors,  as  better  Emperors  had  done, 
but  after  reading  their  opinions,  gave  sentence  accord- 
ing to  his  own  pleasure.”  When  we  think  what  the 
Emperor  was  and  that  his  wicked  wife  sympathized 
with  the  Jews,  we  might  expect  that  Paul  would  have 
been  condemned.  *But  God  so  ordered  it  that  the  Em- 
peror, from  mere  caprice,  or  from  contempt  of  the  petty 
quarrels  of  Jews,  or  for  some  other  reason,  acquitted 
Paul,  ordered  his  chains  to  be  struck  off  and  that  he 
should  be  set  at  liberty.4 

With  what  profound  thanksgiving  to  God  did  the 
Christians  of  Rome,  and  indeed  everywhere,  where 
Paul  had  been,  receive  the  news  of  the  Emperor’s  de- 
cree. The  great  Apostle  was  now  free  to  go,  and  to 
preach  again  for  his  divine  Master. 

Paul’s  absence  from  Rome  is  thought  to  have  been 
about  five  years.  These  five  years  are  supposed  to 
have  been  spent  in  the  following  manner.  First,  lie 
went  through  Macedonia  to  Asia  Minor.  Just  before 
his  trial,  in  his  letter  to  the  Philippians,  he  wrote  that 
he  hoped  to  visit  Philippi  soon,5  and  in  his  letter  to 
Philemon  in  Colosse,  he  told  Philemon  to  prepare  him 
a lodging , for  he  trusted  his  prayers  for  his  deliverance 

4 We  may  suppose,  however,  that  either  the  prosecutor  or  the  wit- 
nesses did  not  appear,  and  that  Paul  was  dismissed  from  lack  of  evi- 
dence. 8 Philippians  ii.  24,  23. 


344 


THE  TRIAL  AND  THE  EXECUTION 


would  be  answered.6  If  he  went  to  Philippi  and  to 
‘Asia,’  his  journey  would  be  down  the  great  road, 
through  Italy,  to  Brundusium,  across  the  Adriatic  to 
Dyrrachium,  through  Illyricum  on  the  great  road  to 
Thessalonica  and  then  through  familiar  places  to  Philip- 
pi. Then  after  a happy,  glad  time  with  his  Philippian 
children,  he  went  on  to  Ephesus7  and  to  the  surround- 
ing towns,  among  which  was  Colosse,  and  enjoyed  the 
friendship#of  Philemon  and  the  c brethren,’  staying  at 
the  c lodgings 5 prepared.  The  next  year,  it  is  supposed, 
he  took  his  long  thought  of8  journey  into  Spain.  It  is 
not  likely  that  he  would  go  by  Rome,  for  the  fury  of 
Nero  had  now  broken  out  in  persecution. 


If  he  went  at  all,  he  probably  went  by  sea  from  Eph- 
esus to  Massilia,  from  which  city  he  could,  on  any  day, 
reach  towns  in  Spain.  In  Spain,  he  is  thought  to  have 
labored  two  years,  founding  churches  along  the  coast 
in  the  principal  cities.  It  was  just  about  the  time  that 
•he  took  this  voyage  that  the  great  fire  in  Rome  oc- 
curred which  was  the  occasion  of  Nero’s  violent  perse- 

6 Philemon  22. 

T Can  you  reconcile  this  supposition  with  Acts  xx.  25  ? 

8 Romans  xv.  24,  28. 


(FIFTY-SECOND  SUNDAY.) 


345 


cution  of  the  Christians.  Paul  would  not  of  course  go 
back  to  Rome  at  this  time.  He  more  likely  sailed  back 
to  Ephesus.  He  had  now  become  an  aged  man,  be- 
tween sixty  and  seventy  years  old.9 

Timothy  was  now  at  Ephesus  as  the  preacher  and 
pastor  of  the  Ephesian  church.  From  Ephesus  Paul 
went  to  Macedonia10  for  a while,  where  he  wrote 

THE  FIRST  EPISTLE  TO  TIMOTHY, 

in  which  he  gave  Timothy  instructions  about  the  sacred 
office  of  the  ministry,  about  worship  and  about  the 
character  of  deacons.11  The  aged  Apostle  is  about  now 
to  leave  his  mantle  on  his  beloved  son  in  the  ministry. 
Soon  after,  Paul  returned  to  Ephesus.12  And  after- 
wards he  made,  it  would  seem,  a short  visit  with  Titus 
to  the  island  of  Crete.  Titus  he  left  in  Crete,13  and 
soon  after  his  return  to  Ephesus  wrote  to  him 

THE  EPISTLE  TO  TITUS, 

in  which  he  gives  Titus  instruction  in  respect  to  the 
churches  which  Christians  had  already  founded  in 
Crete.  If  this  letter  to  Titus  was  written  at  Ephesus, 

9 At  his  conversion  he  was  thirty  years  old  or  over,  (see  page  16.) 

30  years. 

‘Fourteen  years  after/ (Gal.  ii.  1,  Acts  xv.  2,) 
he  went  from  Antioch  to  Jerusalem  with  the 

‘ difficult  question/ 14  years. 

His  second  journey  and  stay  at  Antioch  was 

about 3 years. 

His  third  journey  was  about  . . . 4 “ 

At  Caesarea, 2 “ 

Journey  to  Rome  and  in  Rome,  nearly  . 3 “ 

From  his  acquittal  to  Ephesus,  were  about  4 “ 

60  years  old  or  over. 

10  I.  Timothy  i.  3.  11 1.  Timothy  iii.  1-6,  14,  15,  8-10. 

12  iii.  14.  “ Titus  i.  5. 


346 


THE  TRIAL  AND  THE  EXECUTION. 


it  shows  where  Paul  was  intending  to  spend  the  next 
winter,  for  he  directs  Titus  to  come  to  him  before  the 
next  winter  at  Nicopolis,14  a town  of  considerable  im- 
portance in  lllyricum ; and  if  the  second  letter  to  Tim- 
othy was  written  afterwards  at  Iiome,  it  seems  to  show 
that  Paul  went  from  Ephesus  to  Miletus  and  to  Co- 
rinth,15 on  the  way  to  Nicopolis  and  on  his  way  to 
Pome  ; for  he  says  that  one  of  his  fellow-travellers  was 
left  at  Miletus  sick,  and  that  Erastus,  the  former  Trea- 
surer of  Corinth,  had  staid  behind  in  that  city.  From 
Nicopolis,  perhaps  Paul  hoped  to  visit  and  to  preach  in 
many  of  the  towns  of  lllyricum. 

Paul  was  now  not  very  far  from  Pome.  The  Christ- 
ians of  Rome  had  been  accused  of  setting  fire  to  the 
city.  Nero  had  persecuted  them  with  savage  fury. 
The  first  great  slaughter  of  Christian  martyrs  had 
begun.  Paul  was  the  very  chief  of  the  Christians.  He 
would  soon  be  known,  wherever  he  was,  and  every- 
where he  would  have  enemies.  Perhaps  for  this  reason  he 
had  not  remained  long  in  one  place  except  in  distant 
Spain.  “ There  is  nothing  improbable  in  supposing 
that,  upon  the  testimony  of  some  informer,  he  w^as  ar- 
rested by  the  magistrates  of  Nicopolis  and  forwarded 
to  Rome  for  trial.  The  second  imprisonment  was  se- 
verer tha#  the  first.  It  was  now  dangerous  for  Christians 
to  make  themselves  known  publicly  as  friends  of  the 
Apostle.  The  horrible  wickedness  of  Nero  had  been 
fully  and  publicly  seen.  The  people  were  greatly  ex- 
cited and  indignant  on  account  of  the  tremendous  con- 
flagration which  had  burnt  to  ashes  half  their  city.  Nero 
himself  was  accused  of  setting  the  city  on  fire.  The 
unprincipled  and  murderous  Emperor  tried  to  turn  sus- 
picion from  himself,  by  accusing  the  Christians  of  the 
crime  and  by  persecuting  them.  “ Some  were  cruci- 

15  II.  Tim.  iv.  20. 


14  iii.  12. 


(. FIFTY-SECOND  SUNDAY.) 


347 


fied  : some  were  disguised*  in  the  skins  of  beasts  and 
hunted  to  death  by  dogs  : some  were  wrapped  in  robes 
impregnated  with  inflammable  materials  and  set  on 
fire  at  night  to  illuminate  the  circus  and  the  gardens  of 
Nero.  ‘A  very  great  multitude5  perished,  the  whole 
body  of  Christians  being  considered  as  involved  in  the 
crime  of  firing  the  city.55  This  was  in  the  first  excite- 
ment, and  the  first  excitement  was  past  when  Paul 
reached  Rome.  But  the  city  had  in  it  many  informers , 
who  were  ready  to  accuse  any  unhappy  Christian  of 
this  great  crime.  It  could  not  have  been  long  before 
Paul  was  brought  up  to  the  court.  His  case  was  not 
now  tried  by  the  Emperor,  but  by  the  single  judge 
whom  the  wicked  Emperor  had  appointed  over  the 
city.  At  the  first  hearing  he  escaped,  although  his 
friends  all  deserted  him.16  ‘Nevertheless,5  he  wrote  to 
♦ his  dear  son  Timothy,  c the  Lord  stood  by  me  and 
strengthened  me  ; and  I was  delivered  out  of  the  mouth 
of  the  lion.517  What  the  charge  at  this  first  hearing 
was  is  not  told  us  : perhaps  the  charge  of  firing  the 
city.  Paul  perhaps  was  able  to  make  it  appear  to  his 
judge  that  he  was  innocent  of  that  charge ; for  he  was 
absent  from  the  city  at  the  time.  While  in  prison 
again,  waiting  a hearing  probably  on  another  charge, 
the  A^enerable  Apostle  wrote  his  last  letter.  His  heart 
yearned  over  Timothy,  and  he  longed  to  have  him  a 
faithful  minister  of  the  Messiah.  He  wrote  therefore 

to  urge  upon  Tirpothy  his  solemn  duties, 

/ . 

THE  SECOND  EPISTLE  TO  TIMOTHY. 

He  did  not  expect  to  escape  condemnation  and  exe- 
cution ; but  he  wrote  like  one  whose  spirit  was  lifted  far 

10 II.  Timothy  iv.  16,  17. 

17  It  may  be  that  Paul  actually  saved  himself  from  being  thrown  to 
the  wild  beasts  by  declaring  himself  a Roman  citizen. 


(FIFTY-SECOND  SUNDAY.) 

QUESTIONS. 

HAT  wise  providence  is  now  seen  in  sending  Paul  to 


How  were  Paul’s  1 bonds  manifest  in  all  the  prastorium  ’ ? 
What  was  the  effect  of  Paul’s  imprisonment  in  Rome  on  the 
Christians  there  ? 

How  was  Nero  changing  about  this  time? 

Who  was  the  Empress  ? 

Have  we  any  account  of  Paul’s  last  days  in  the  Scriptures  ? 
From  what  authorities  is  the  remaining  narrative  of 
Paul’s  life  gathered  ? 

What  two  opinions  have  there  been  in  respect  to  the 
time  of  the  Apostle's  death  P1 
In  what  respect  do  the  opinions  agree  ? 

Which  one  of  the  two  general  opinions  is  here  adopted  ? 
Into  what  three  parts  is  the  remainder  of  his  life  divided  ? 
Where  did  Tiberius  and  Claudius  hear  their  appeals  ? Nero  ? 
Who  sat  with  him  ? Three  classes  ? 

Nero’s  power  ? vices  ? murders  ? love  of  applause  ? 
What  proof  would  be  required  at  the  trial  ? 

Which  charge  would  be  thought  to  contain  the  greatest 
crime  ? 

How  can  we  tell  what  Paul  would  answer  ? 

What  especial  evidence  could  be  produced  in  court 
against  the  principal  charge  ? 

How  was  the  decision  given  ? 

What  reasons*iay  be  given  for  Nero’s  acquittal  ? 

How  long  is  it  thought  that  Paul  was  absent  from  Rome  ? 
What  reason  is  there  for  supposing  he  went  to  Philippi  ? 
What  for  thinking  he  went  to  Colosse  ? 

Over  what  route  would  he  go  to  these  places  ? 

Can  you  reconcile  his  visiting  Ephesus  with  Acts  xx.  25  ? 
Where  did  he  go  the  next  year  ? 

What  is  the  probable  route  ? 

How  long  is  it  supposed  that  he  was  in  Spain  ? 

1 On  either  supposition  the  passages  in  the  lesson  refer  to  the  clos* 
ing  scenes  of  his  life. 


Rome  ? 


(103) 


{FIFTY-SECOND  SUNDAY.) 


To  what  place  did  he  return  ? 

Show  what  Paul’s  age  must  have  been  at  this  time. 

In  what  passage  does  Paul  allude  to  his  age  ? 

Who  was  at  Ephesus  ? What  Epistle  did  Paul  write  ? 

Point  out  the  passages  which  show  the  object  of  his  letter. 
What  Epistle  was  next  written  ? 

Where  was  Titus  ? Show  what  the  instructions  to  him 
were  about. 

What  indication  do  you  get  from  this  Epistle  in  resj>ect*to 
other  places  where  Paul  lived  ? 

On  the  supposition  made,  where  did  Paulgo  next  ? 
What  would  he  do  there  ? 

Where  was  Paul  arrested  ? For  what  reason  ? 

How  did  the  second  imprisonment  differ  from  the  first  ? 
Why  was  it  dangerous  for  a Christian  to  be  in  Rome  ? 
Would  Paul  be  tried  by  the  Emperor  ^ 

What  happened  at  his  1 first  answer  ’ ? 

Who  1 stood  by  him  ’ ? What  does  the  rest  of  *that 
verse  mean  ? 

What  was  Paul’s  last  Epistle  ?2 
Who  only  was  with  him  ? 

What  wasyplainly  before  him  ? 

Who  conquers,  Paul  or  Nero  ? 

What  is  the  figure  in  the  words  written  to  Timothy  ? 

Show  the  points  of  comparison. 

What  especial  kind  wishes  and  requests  of  affection 
does  he  express  ? 

What  advantage  would  Paul’s  Roman  citizenship  be  to  him 
now? 

Where  does  tradition  say  Paul  was  executed  ? 

How  was  he  executed  ? 

What  is  the  result  of  Paul’s  whole  life  ? 

What  was  the  one  great  lesson  which  he  everywhere  taught  ? 
If  the  evidence  of  Paul's  arguments  and  life  do  not  lead 
you  to  Relieve  in  Jesus  as  your  Messiah  and  Saviour,  can  you 
le  less  guilty  than  the  Jews  who  rejected  the  Messiahship  of 
Jesus  ? 

2 Th^Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  has  not  been  included  in  these  lessons. 
(104) 


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